Rio Narcea produces 14.1 million lb Ni in 2006
Rio Narcea Gold Mines Ltd (C:RNG)
Shares Issued 164,082,512
Last Close 1/29/2007 $3.12
Tuesday January 30 2007 - News Release
Mr. Chris von Christierson reports
RIO NARCEA ANNOUNCES RECORD FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR END 2006 PRODUCTION RESULTS AND PRELIMINARY UNAUDITED CASH FLOW
Rio Narcea Gold Mines Ltd. has released its fourth quarter and full year production results from its 100-per-cent-owned Aguablanca nickel-copper mine in southern Spain for 2006, as well as preliminary unaudited cash flow figures.
The company produced 3.6 million pounds of nickel and 3.9 million pounds of copper during the fourth quarter of 2006, from processing 418,600 tonnes of ore. Production for the year totalled 14.1 million pounds nickel and 14.6 million pounds of copper, from processing a total of 1,468,000 tonnes of ore. Two thousand six represents the first full year of commercial production at Aguablanca.
Operating cash flow for the company before changes in working capital was $31.4-million for the fourth quarter of 2006 and $85.5-million for the year, of which Aguablanca contributed $26.8-million in the fourth quarter and $84.6-million for the year. Operating cash flow for the company was $43.7-million for the fourth quarter and $78.7-million for the year, of which Aguablanca contributed $35.0-million in the fourth quarter and $79.6-million for the year. As at Dec. 31, 2006, cash and cash equivalents totalled $79.8-million, and short- and long-term debt amounted to $72.0-million.
AGUABLANCA OPERATING RESULTS 2006
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year 2006
Ore Milled (tonnes) 314,700 359,700 375,000 418,600 1,468,000
Nickel head grade (%) 0.68% 0.61% 0.60% 0.54% 0.60%
Copper head grade (%) 0.54% 0.49% 0.51% 0.47% 0.50%
Nickel recovery (%) 75.4% 73.2% 68.0% 72.3% 72.3%
Tailings nickel grade (%) 0.17% 0.16% 0.19% 0.15% 0.17%
Copper recovery (%) 90.9% 91.2% 88.2% 91.0% 90.3%
Tailings copper grade (%) 0.05% 0.04% 0.06% 0.04% 0.05%
Nickel production (000 lb) 3,541 3,558 3,399 3,604 14,102
Copper production (000 lb) 3,412 3,515 3,740 3,914 14,581
Nickel sales (000 lb) 3,898 3,075 3,166 3,890 14,029
Copper sales (000 lb) 3,590 3,075 3,242 4,423 14,330
FINANCIAL RESULTS 2006
(millions of U.S. dollars)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year 2006
Operating cash flow before changes in
working capital (2) 12.1 23.1 18.9 31.4 85.5
Of which attributable to Aguablanca (2) 14.2 22.3 21.2 26.8 84.6
Operating cash flow 1.8 14.8 18.5 43.7 78.7
Of which attributable to Aguablanca 6.8 14.2 23.6 35.0 79.6
(1) Preliminary unaudited results
(2) Cash provided by operating activities before changes in working capital
is a non-generally accepted accounting principles measure not to be considered
in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in
accordance with GAAP. Refer to the non-GAAP measures section in the company's
most recent management's discussion and analysis.
FINANCIAL RESULTS 2006
(millions of U.S. dollars)
Dec. 31, 2006
Cash and cash equivalents 79.8
Total debt 72.0
Long-term bank debt 41.7
Short-term bank debt 30.3
MARKET DATA 2006
(dollars per pound)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year 2006
Nickel price
-- three-month 6.77 8.90 12.09 14.44 10.55
Copper price --
three-month 2.20 3.24 3.46 3.22 3.03
Construction at Tasiast continues to be on schedule and key operations personnel are in place.
© 2007 Canjex Publishing Ltd. |
