Scorpio Gold Reports Financial Results for First Quarter of 2013
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/15/13 -- Scorpio Gold Corporation ("Scorpio Gold" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: SGN) is pleased to announce its financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2013 ("Q1"). This press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis and the condensed consolidated interim financial statements for Q1, available on the Company's website at www.scorpiogold.com and under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All monetary amounts are expressed in US dollars. Comparative numbers disclosed were restated following the adoption of the new IFRS standard, IFRIC 20, Stripping costs in the production phase of a surface mine ("IFRIC 20"). See note 3 a) of the Q1 condensed consolidated interim financial statements for more information.
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS:
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Q1 2013 Q1 2012
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$ $
Revenue (000's) 11,666 12,939
Mine operating earnings (000's) 3,231 4,897
Net earnings (000's) 2,096 3,074
Earnings per share (Basic) 0.01 0.01
Earnings per share (Diluted) 0.01 0.01
Adjusted net earnings (1) (000's) 2,100 4,233
Adjusted EBITDA(1) (000's) 6,523 6,025
Cash flow from operating activities (000's) 6,074 5,103
Adjusted cash flow from operating activities(1) (000's) 6,074 6,770
Total cash cost per ounce of gold sold(1) 774 923
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Key Operating Statistics:
Mining Operations
Gold ounces produced 7,411 7,197
Drinkwater pit
Ore tonnes mined 163,542 122,995
Waste tonnes mined 613,066 656,770
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Total mined 776,608 779,765
Strip ratio 3.7 5.3
Mary pit (in development)
Ore tonnes mined 34,941 -
Waste tonnes mined (pre-stripping) 327,015 280,205
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Total mined 361,956 280,205
Processing
Tonnes processed 205,846 126,668
Gold head grade (g/t) 2.42 2.34
Availability(i) 65.2% 52.2%
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(i) Processing Availability is based on hours of crusher operations versus permitted run time. The current Air Quality permit allows for a 300 tons per hour throughput rate and 20 hours of operation per day. In Q1 of 2013, there were 90 days or 1,800 permitted hours of operation. During this period the crusher ran for 1,174 hours for a calculated availability of 65.2%.
Peter Hawley, CEO comments, "Despite slightly lower gold prices in Q1 of 2013, the Mineral Ridge operation continues to track positively. Ongoing efforts in cost reduction have resulted in a 16% drop in the total cash cost per ounce of gold compared to Q1 of 2012, and is currently below our 2013 guidance cost of $800-900 per ounce. Gold production increased by 3% compared to Q1 of 2012, and would have been markedly higher were it not for the 1,878 gold ounces sold in December 2012 through a carbon sale agreement that had accelerated production and revenue in Q4 of 2012. Production from the Drinkwater pit continues to increase with a 33% gain over the same period in 2012, while the overall strip ratio continues to decline. A steady quarterly increase in mineralized material mined from developing Mary pit is also adding ounces to the overall production. Processed material placed on the leach pad in Q1 of 2013 increased by 63% to 205,846 tonnes (10,401 recoverable gold ounces) compared to 126,668 tonnes in Q1 of 2012, resulting in a significant increase in gold inventory in process at the end of the quarter.
"The Company remains focused on increasing production and reducing costs. A new water well that came online on March 19, 2013 is delivering an extra 150 gallons per minute to the leach pad, which is expected to accelerate the leaching process and delivery of gold and silver bearing solution to the ADR plant. A new crushing facility that will increase crusher throughput is planned to come online in Q2 of 2013. Even with the existing crushing system, the operation exceeded the Company's 2013 guidance of 2,450 tonnes (2,700 tons) per day by 12% in Q1. On average 2,745 tonnes per day were placed on the leach pad in Q1, representing an increase of 65% from the same quarter of 2012."
Highlights for the Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2013:
-- Revenue of $11.7 million compared to $12.9 million during Q1 of 2012.
-- 7,411 ounces of gold produced compared to 7,197 during Q1 of 2012.
-- Total cash cost per ounce of gold sold of $774 compared to $923 during
Q1 of 2012.
-- Mine operating earnings(1) of $3.2 million compared to $4.9 million
during Q1 of 2012.
-- Net earnings of $2.1 million compared to $3.1 million during Q1 of 2012.
-- Adjusted net earnings(1) of 2.1 million compared to $4.2 million during
Q1 of 2012.
-- Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $6.5 million compared to $6.0 million during Q1 of
2012.
-- Adjusted cash flow from operating activities(1) of $6.1 million compared
to $6.8 million during Q1 of 2012.
(1) This is a non-IFRS measure; refer to Non-IFRS Performance Measures section of this press release and the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis for a complete definition and reconciliation to the Company's financial statements.
Non-IFRS Measures
The discussion of financial results in this press release includes references to mine operating earnings, Adjusted EBITDA, total cash cost per ounce, Adjusted Cash Flow from Operating Activities and Adjusted Net Earnings, all of which are non-IFRS measures. The Company provides these measures as additional information regarding the Company's financial results and performance. Please refer to the Company's MD&A for the three-month period ended March 31, 2013 for definitions of these terms and a reconciliation of these measures to reported IFRS results.
About Scorpio Gold Corporation
Scorpio Gold holds a 70% interest in the Mineral Ridge gold mining operation located in Esmeralda County, Nevada with joint venture partner Waterton Global Value L.P. (30%), and is currently entitled to receive 80% of cash flow generated. Mineral Ridge is currently in production as a conventional open pit mining and heap leach operation. The Mineral Ridge property is host to multiple gold-bearing structures, veins and bodies at exploration, development and production stages. Scorpio Gold recently acquired the Goldwedge advanced exploration-stage property and processing facility in Manhattan, Nevada, and the Pinon advanced exploration-stage gold property near Carlin, Nevada. The Company is assessing its exploration plans for these properties as well as the potential for toll milling at the Goldwedge plant, which is currently permitted for 400 tons per day.
Scorpio Gold's CEO, Peter J. Hawley, P.Geo., is a Qualified Person for the Mineral Ridge project and has reviewed and approved the content of this release. For additional information, please see the Company's website at www.scorpiogold.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
SCORPIO GOLD CORPORATION
Peter J. Hawley, CEO
The Company relies on litigation protection for "forward-looking" statements. This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's plans with respect to the exploration and development of its Mineral Ridge project and the Goldwedge and Pinon properties. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements, including risks such as delays related to completion of economic studies and those risk factors outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis as filed on SEDAR. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Scorpio Gold Corporation
Steve Roebuck
President
(819) 825-7618
sroebuck@scorpiogold.com
www.scorpiogold.com
Investor Relations:
Jim Macdonald
Torrey Hills Capital
(858) 456-7300
jm@sdthc.com
