Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 26, 2017) - Amerigo Resources Ltd. (TSX: ARG) ("Amerigo" or the "Company") announced today production results for the fourth quarter and full year 2016 from Minera Valle Central ("MVC"), the Company's operation located near Rancagua, Chile.
Operational Highlights for Q4 and Annual 2016:
MVC produced 56.8 million pounds of copper in 2016 at a cash cost of $1.73 per pound, pursuant to a tolling agreement with Codelco's Division El Teniente and a toll processing agreement with Minera Maricunga. This record copper production was due to good performance from the historic Cauquenes deposit and was within the Company's original guidance.
In Q4-2016, MVC produced 13.6 million pounds of copper at a cash cost of $1.87 per pound. The Q4-2016 copper production was affected by a labour strike in October 2016 which resulted in 10 days of lost production, and 6 days of lost production at the end of December 2016, due to an early annual planned maintenance shutdown at El Teniente. Lower production negatively affected unit cash cost.
In 2017, MVC expects to produce 60 to 65 million pounds of copper, at an annual cash cost of $1.60 to $1.75 per pound copper. MVC also expects to produce 1.5 million pounds of molybdenum.
Amerigo is advancing financing discussions to complete the construction of the second phase of the Cauquenes expansion project in the second half of 2018. This $30 million project is planned to increase production to 87 million pounds of copper per year at an estimated cash cost of $1.40 per pound.
Rob Henderson, Amerigo's President and CEO, stated "We are pleased with MVC's performance in 2016, which has provided a strong position to move forward with the next phase of expansion at Cauquenes."
Summary of 2016 Production Results:
|
|
2016 |
Q4-2016 |
Q3-2016 |
Q2-2016 |
Q1-2016 |
|
Fresh tailings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tonnes processed |
42,031,933 |
9,782,870 |
11,373,542 |
10,620,849 |
10,617,420 |
|
Copper grade |
0.116% |
0.116% |
0.113% |
0.117% |
0.117% |
|
Copper recovery |
19.6% |
18.4% |
19.7% |
21.3% |
19.2% |
|
Copper produced (millions of pounds) |
21.089 |
4.608 |
5.571 |
5.640 |
5.270 |
|
Historic tailings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tonnes processed |
20,639,169 |
4,935,260 |
5,435,474 |
5,149,732 |
5,087,765 |
|
Copper grade |
0.232% |
0.239% |
0.236% |
0.224% |
0.228% |
|
Copper recovery |
31.1% |
31.1% |
34.4% |
32.2% |
26.4% |
|
Copper produced (millions of pounds) |
32.746 |
8.065 |
9.756 |
8.191 |
6.734 |
|
Maricunga toll processing |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copper produced (millions of pounds) |
2.993 |
0.918 |
0.700 |
0.524 |
0.851 |
|
Total copper produced (millions of pounds) |
56.828 |
13.591 |
16.027 |
14.355 |
12.855 |
|
Total copper delivered (millions of pounds) |
56.272 |
13.417 |
15.599 |
14.509 |
12.746 |
|
Cash cost ($/pound copper) |
1.73 |
1.87 |
1.60 |
1.65 |
1.81 |
Release of 2016 Annual Financial Results:
The Company will release 2016 annual financial results at market open on Wednesday February 22, 2017, followed by an investor conference call on Thursday February 23, 2017 at 11:00 am Pacific Standard Time/2:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
Conference Call Participation:
To participate in the call, please dial 1-866-225-0198 (Toll-Free North America) and let the operator know you wish to participate in the Amerigo Resources conference call. Media are invited to attend on a listen-only basis. Following management's discussion of the quarterly results, the analyst and investment community will be invited to ask questions.
About the Company:
Amerigo Resources Ltd. is an innovative copper producer with a long-term partnership with Codelco, the world's largest copper producer. Amerigo produces copper concentrate at the MVC operation in Chile by processing fresh and historic tailings from Codelco's El Teniente mine, the world's largest underground copper mine. Tel: (604) 681-2802; Fax: (604) 682-2802; Web: www.amerigoresources.com; Listing: ARG:TSX.
