Lake Shore Gold (LSG-T) July 10, '14 today announced preliminary cash operating costs and AISC for Q2/14 and H1/14. Final numbers for these measures will be available on July 31, 2014 when the Company releases its full second quarter 2014 financial results. Preliminary cash operating cost per ounce sold for Q2/14 is approximately US$570 (including US$30 per ounce for royalties), a 37% improvement from US$908 per ounce in Q2/13. AISC per ounce sold in Q2/14 is expected to be approximately US$810 per ounce, an improvement of 36% from US$1,257 in Q2/13. Total production costs in Q2/14 are estimated at approximately $33 million.In H1/14, preliminary cash operating costs are US$600 per ounce sold, a 36% improvement from H1/13 and better than the Company's full-year 2014 guidance of between US$675 and US$775 per ounce. AISC per ounce sold for the half year is estimated at US$890, a 36% improvement from a year ago and better than the Company's target range for 2014 of US$950 to US$1,050 per ounce. Total production costs for the first six months of 2014 are estimated at approximately $63 million.
| Q2/13 | Q3/13 | Q4/13 | Q1/14 | Q2/14 | | Production (oz.) | | | | | | | Timmins West | 24,200 | 22,600 | 41,600 | 33,900 | 41,900 | | Bell Creek | 6,600 | 6,300 | 10,100 | 10,700 | 10,400 | | Total | 30,800 | 28,900 | 51,700 | 44,600 | 52,300 | | Gold poured (oz.) | 31,800 | 25,900 | 51,400 | 45,700 | 53,500 | | Gold sold (oz.) | 27,600 | 32,300 | 49,600 | 42,900 | 53,500 | | Avg. price (US$/oz.) | 1,409 | 1,324 | 1,261 | 1,294 | 1,289 | | Costs (US$/oz. sold) | | | | | | | Cash operating | 908 | 701 | 609 | 630 | 570 | | All-in sustaining | 1,257 | 1,027 | 849 | 970 | 810 |
Tony Makuch, President and CEO of Lake Shore Gold, commented: "Effectively managing unit costs is a key driver of our success and our ability to generate free cash flow. Based on our volumes and the margins we have realized, we have increased our cash and bullion by close to $20 million so far in 2014, to approximately $53 million. We have also repaid over $17 million in debt. With the exception of $5 million from a flow-through financing, completed to advance work at our growth projects and key exploration targets, all the cash and bullion added this year has been generated internally. Based on the current gold price, we expect to continue to generate solid free cash flow over the balance of the year."
The Company's full financial results for Q2/14 and H1/14 will be released before the market opens on July 31, 2014, with a conference call and webcast to follow that afternoon at 3 pm. Details of the conference call and webcast will be released shortly. |
