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Lundin Gold Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year Results23.02.2024 | 1:00 Uhr | CNW
Production and Cost Performance Meets Upgraded Guidance VANCOUVER, Feb. 22, 2024 - Lundin Gold Inc. (TSX: LUG); (Nasdaq Stockholm: LUG); (OTCQX: LUGDF) ("Lundin Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to report results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2023. Lundin Gold's year is highlighted by its production of 481,274 oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost ("AISC")1 of $860 per oz sold, meeting upwardly revised production guidance of 450,000 to 485,000 oz and AISC1 guidance of $820 to $870 per oz sold. Cash from operating activities of $519 million was generated for the year resulting in free cash flow¹ of $263 million which is net of a one-time interest and finance charge payment of $129 million from the full repayment of the gold prepay facility (the "Gold Prepay Facility"). All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. PDF Version Ron Hochstein, President and CEO commented, "Lundin Gold continues its strong track record by meeting its upgraded production and improved cost guidance for 2023, and in doing so generating significant cash flow. Looking ahead to 2024, we are focused on operational excellence and delivering the Process Plant Expansion Project to achieve increased throughput and recovery improvements. Furthermore, we continue to make significant headway on our exciting exploration programs; 2024 will be the largest drilling program ever conducted in the district that hosts Fruta del Norte. We expect continued generation of free cash flow, which will enable the Company to continue to pursue debt reduction, M&A and potential increase in returns to shareholders through increased dividends." OPERATING AND FINANCIAL RESULTS SUMMARY The following two tables provide an overview of key operating and financial results.
FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR HIGHLIGHTS Financial Results - Cash Flow Story Intact
Production Results - Another Strong Quarter, Room to Improve
Outlook
Liquidity and Capital Resources At the end of 2023, the Company is in a strong financial position.
As at December 31, 2023, the Company had cash of $268 million and a working capital balance of $347 million compared to cash of $363 million and a working capital balance of $195 million at December 31, 2022. The change in cash during 2023 was primarily due to the full repayment of the Gold Prepay Facility of $208 million; full repayment of the Senior Facility totalling $193 million, including interest; principal repayments, interest and finance charges, including associated taxes, under the Stream Facility totalling $79.9 million; dividends of $94.9 million; and cash outflows of $53.5 million relating to investing activities. This is offset by cash generated from operating activities of $519 million, which is net of a $25 million voluntary advance income tax payment to the Government of Ecuador during the fourth quarter that will reduce the Company's corporate income tax payment due in April 2024, and proceeds from the exercise of stock options and anti-dilution rights totalling $14.2 million. The Stream Facility is the last remaining debt on the Company's balance sheet following the full repayment of both the Gold Prepay Facility and Senior Facility during 2023. The Company has the option to repay (i) 50% of the Stream Facility outstanding on June 30, 2024 for $150 million and / or (ii) the other 50% outstanding on June 30, 2026 for $225 million. Capital Expenditures Sustaining Capital
Process Plant Expansion Project The Process Plant Expansion Project is expected to deliver increased plant throughput to 5,000 tpd and increased metallurgical recoveries of approximately 3% by the end of 2024 with upgrades to the concentrate dewatering, new tailings and reclaim lines, the addition of three Jameson cells, and other ancillary works. During the fourth quarter, expenditures of $0.9 million were incurred of the total estimated expansion project capital estimate of $36.0 million. Health and Safety During 2023 there were no Lost Time Incidents ("LTIs") and seven Medical Aid Incident ("MAIs"). The Total Recordable Incident Rate across exploration and operations was 0.24 per 200,000 hours worked during 2023. FDN operations had more than one year and over 7.6 million hours worked without a LTI as of December 31, 2023. Subsequent to year end, FDN operations experienced an LTI on February 2, 2024. Community Various community projects supported by the Company progressed during the year including initiatives focused on community health and education. Lundin Gold continued to support an innovative program which provides mental health services to local community members. Education programs sponsored by the Company which improve local student access to higher education continued to show success as a cohort of local students prepare to graduate from university in the coming months, a significant milestone for the Los Encuentros Parish. The Company also launched a complementary program designed to improve the quality of local education during the year. Infrastructure investment continues to be a priority for Lundin Gold. In addition to the Company's long-standing commitment to support road maintenance, Lundin Gold co-funded with the Ministry of Education the rehabilitation of the local school, which more than 1,300 children from the Los Encuentros Parish attend. Work on this project was nearing completion at the end of the year. Lundin Gold continued to support local businesses in conjunction with the Lundin Foundation, including women-led businesses through the third series of the program "Soy Emprendadora". Among the supported businesses, the local textile manufacturer, fire extinguisher maintenance company, and pest control/fumigation company all increased their business activities during the year with Lundin Gold as an anchor client. Efforts have continued to ensure that local farmers retain access to local, national, and international markets. The Company also continued to engage with local indigenous people, especially the Shuar Federation of Zamora Chinchipe, to jointly implement projects that promote economic opportunities and the Shuar culture. Following the election of new local authorities, the round table dialogue process restarted during the third quarter, with high participation rates by local community members. EXPLORATION Near-Mine Exploration Program
Regional Exploration Program
Newcrest Earn-In Agreement CORPORATE The Company paid quarterly dividends of $0.10 per share for a total of $94.9 million during the year. With the release of its 2023 year-end results, the Company has declared a cash dividend of $0.10 per share which is payable on March 25, 2024 (March 28, 2024 for shares trading on Nasdaq Stockholm) to shareholders of record on March 8, 2024. The Company's second TCFD-aligned climate change report and seventh annual sustainability report were published in May. Based on publicly available data from 152 gold mines that reported their Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 and on Lundin Gold's 2022 emissions performance, the emissions intensity of Fruta del Norte was among the lowest in the industry. The Company has set a target to be carbon neutral by 2030 with respect to its Scopes 1 and 2 emissions based on its current life of mine plan. A number of changes to the Company's directors took place in 2023. At the Company's annual shareholders' meeting on May 15, 2023, Ms. Angelina Mehta was elected as a director, replacing Ms. Chantal Gosselin who did not stand for re-election. Furthermore, upon the acquisition of the Company's largest shareholder, Newcrest Mining Ltd. ("Newcrest"), by Newmont Corp. ("Newmont") on November 6, 2023, the Company appointed two new directors to the Board as Newmont nominees: Ms. Melissa Harmon and Mr. Scott Langley. Mr. Craig Jones and Ms. Jill Terry, the former Newcrest nominees, resigned from the Board on the same day. The Company also announced several changes to the Company's officers during the year including the appointment of Mr. Christopher Kololian as Chief Financial Officer, shortly after the retirement of Mr. Alessandro Bitelli, and Mr. Terry Smith as Chief Operating Officer. With the departure of Mr. Nathan Monash, Vice President, Sustainability, Ms. Sheila Colman took on the role of Vice President, Legal and Sustainability and Corporate Secretary, while Ms. Iliana Rodriguez, Vice President, Human Resources, departed the Company early in the first quarter. Qualified Persons The technical information relating to FDN contained in this News Release has been reviewed and approved by Ron Hochstein P. Eng, Lundin Gold's President and CEO who is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. The disclosure of exploration information contained in this press release was prepared by Andre Oliveira, P.Geo, Lundin Gold's V.P. Exploration, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. Webcast and Conference Call The Company will host a conference call and webcast to discuss its results on Friday, February 23 at 7:00 a.m. PT, 10:00 a.m. ET, 4:00 p.m. CET. Conference Call Dial-In Numbers:
A link to the webcast will be available on the Company's website, www.lundingold.com. A replay of the conference call will be available two hours after its completion until February 28, 2024.
About Lundin Gold Lundin Gold, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, owns the Fruta del Norte gold mine in southeast Ecuador and a large exploration land package that hosts the Fruta del Norte deposit at its northern edge. Fruta del Norte is among the highest-grade operating gold mines in the world. The Company's board and management team have extensive expertise in mine operations and are dedicated to operating Fruta del Norte responsibly. The Company operates with transparency and in accordance with international best practices. Lundin Gold is committed to delivering value to its shareholders, while simultaneously providing economic and social benefits to impacted communities, fostering a healthy and safe workplace and minimizing the environmental impact. The Company believes that the value created through the development of Fruta del Norte will benefit its shareholders, the Government and the citizens of Ecuador. Non-IFRS Measures This news release refers to certain financial measures, such as average realized gold price per oz sold, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, cash operating cost per oz sold, all-in sustaining cost, free cash flow, free cash flow per share, and adjusted earnings, which are not measures recognized under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. These measures may differ from those made by other companies and accordingly may not be comparable to such measures as reported by other companies. These measures have been derived from the Company's financial statements because the Company believes that they are of assistance in the understanding of the results of operations and its financial position. Certain additional disclosures for these specified financial measures have been incorporated by reference and can be found on page 16 of the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2023 available on SEDAR+. Additional Information The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Lundin Gold under the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was publicly communicated on February 22, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time through the contact persons set out below. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements Certain of the information and statements in this press release are considered "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" as those terms are defined under Canadian securities laws (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements and information involve assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict, and are usually beyond the control of management, that could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed by these forward-looking statements and information. Lundin Gold believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. This information speaks only as of the date of this press release, and the Company will not necessarily update this information, unless required to do so by securities laws. This press release contains forward-looking information in several places, such as in statements relating to : the Company's 2024 production outlook, including estimates of gold production, grades recoveries and AISC; operating plans and costs; cash flow forecasts and financing obligations; the potential to exercise the buyback of the Stream Facility; the Company's estimated capital and sustaining costs; completion of sustaining capital projects; benefits of the Company's community programs; the Company's declaration and payment of dividends pursuant to its dividend policy; the timing and the success of its drill program at Fruta del Norte and its other exploration activities; estimates of Mineral Resources and Reserves at Fruta del Norte and plans to update the same; and completion of the process plant expansion project and benefits to be derived therefrom. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as Lundin Gold's actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section in Lundin Gold's Mangement's Discussion and Analysis dated February 22, 2024 which is available at www.lundingold.com or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Lundin Gold's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement or that could have a material impact on the Company or the trading price of its shares include risks relating to: instability in Ecuador; community relations; forecasts relating to production and costs; mining operations; security; non-compliance with laws and regulations and compliance costs; tax changes in Ecuador; waste disposal and tailings; government or regulatory approvals; environmental compliance; gold price; infrastructure; dependence on a single mine; exploration and development; control of Lundin Gold; availability of workforce and labour relations; dividends; information systems and cyber security; Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates; title matters and surface rights and access; health and safety; human rights; employee misconduct; measures to protect biodiversity; endangered species and critical habitats; global economic conditions; shortages of critical resources; competition for new projects; key talent recruitment and retention; market price of the Company's shares; social media and reputation; insurance and uninsured risks; pandemics, epidemics or infectious disease outbreak; climate change; illegal mining; conflicts of interest; ability to maintain obligations or comply with debt; violation of anti-bribery and corruption laws; internal controls; claims and legal proceedings; and reclamation obligations. SOURCE Lundin Gold Inc. Contact Ron F. Hochstein, President and CEO, Tel (Ecuador): +593 2-299-6400, Tel (Canada): +1-604-806-3589, ron.hochstein@lundingold.com; Finlay Heppenstall, Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Development, Tel: +1 604 806 3089, finlay.heppenstall@lundingold.com Dieser Artikel stammt von Rohstoff-Welt.de
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