Starcore Earns $2.3 Million in the First Quarter
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec 11, 2013) - Starcore International Mines Ltd. (the "Company") (TSX:SAM) has filed the results for the first quarter ended October 31, 2013 for the Company and its mining operations. The full version of the Company's Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis can be viewed on the Company's website at www.starcore.com, or SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All financial information is prepared in accordance with IFRS and all dollar amounts are expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
First Quarter, October 31, 2013 Highlights:
- Earnings from mining operations was $3.1 million, or 36% of gross revenue, compared to $1.3 million, or 19% of gross revenue, in the prior year;
- Income for the quarter was $2.3 million, or $0.02 per share compared to a loss of $(346), or $(0.00) per share for the prior year;
- The following table contains selected highlights from the Company's audited consolidated statement of operations for the quarters ended October 31, 2013 and 2012:
| (in thousands of Canadian dollars) | October 31, 2013 | October 31, 2012 | |||||
| Revenues | $ | 8,749 | $ | 6,481 | |||
| Cost of Sales | (5,632 | ) | (5,230 | ) | |||
| Earnings from mining operations | 3,117 | 1,251 | |||||
| Net income (loss) | |||||||
| (i) Net income (loss) | $ | 2,296 | $ | (346 | ) | ||
| (ii) Income per share - basic | $ | 0.02 | $ | (0.00 | ) | ||
| (iii) Income per share - diluted | $ | 0.02 | $ | (0.00 | ) | ||
- The mine improved ore grade significantly for the quarter to 2.89 g/t and 27.0 g/t for gold and silver, respectively, and recovery improved in the first quarter averaging 88.2% and 56%, respectively, well over the results from the prior year when the mine was experiencing recovery and grade issues. As a result, overall metal production was much improved for the last quarter at 6,900 equivalent ounces ("EqOz"), compared to 6,300 EqOz in the previous quarter and only 3,900 EqOz in the prior year;
- Mine operating cash costs decreased to US$628/EqOz compared to US$705/EqOz in the previous quarter and US$1,073/EqOz in the prior year. All-in Sustaining Costs, which includes sustaining capital expenditures, exploration, reclamation and corporate and administrative cost were US$989/EqOz;
- The following table is a summary of mine production statistics for the San Martin mine for the three months ended October 31, 2013 and for the year ended July, 2013:
| (Unaudited) | Unit of measure | Actual results for 3 months ended October 31, 2013 | Actual results for 12 months ended July 31, 2013 | ||
| Production of Gold in Dore | thousand ounces | 6.3 | 18.2 | ||
| Production of Silver in Dore | thousand ounces | 37.7 | 110 | ||
| Equivalent ounces of Gold | thousand ounces | 6.9 | 20.1 | ||
| Silver to Gold equivalency ratio | 60:1 | 57:1 | |||
| Gold recovery | percent | 88.2 | % | 77.9 | % |
| Silver recovery | percent | 56.4 | % | 53.7 | % |
| Gold grade | grams/tonne | 2.89 | 2.36 | ||
| Silver grade | grams/tonne | 27.0 | 21.0 | ||
| Milled | thousands of tonnes | 77.0 | 307.3 | ||
| Operating Cost per tonne milled | US dollars/tonne | 56 | 55 | ||
| Operating Cost per Equivalent Ounce | US dollars/ounces | 628 | 844 |
"I am very pleased with our financial results, especially in light of lower metal prices," said Robert Eadie, President and CEO of the Company. "Our positive cash flow continues to improve dramatically, highlighting this quarter with record production of 6,900 ounces. We thank the joint efforts of our production team at the mine and our staff at corporate headquarters for making this possible through their hard work and dedication."
About Starcore
Starcore is engaged in exploring, extracting and processing gold and silver through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Compañia Minera Peña de Bernal, S.A. de C.V., which owns the San Martin mine in Queretaro, Mexico. The Company is a public reporting issuer on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Company is also engaged in owning, acquiring, exploiting, exploring and evaluating mineral properties, and either joint venturing or developing these properties further. The Company has interests in properties which are exclusively located in Mexico.
ON BEHALF OF STARCORE INTERNATIONAL MINES LTD.
Gary Arca, Chief Financial Officer and Director
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed nor does it accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Contact
Starcore International Mines Ltd.
Gary Arca
1-604-602-4935 or Toll Free: 1-866-602-4935
1-604-602-4936
info@starcore.com
www.starcore.com
