TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 16, 2013) - QMX GOLD CORPORATION (TSX:QMX)("QMX Gold" or the "Company") sold 4,100 ounces of gold at an average price of $1,641 in the first quarter of 2013, generating revenue of $6.40 million. All figures are reported in Canadian dollars, unless noted otherwise.
| Q1 Financial Summary: |
| Q1 2013 | Q4 2012 | |||||||
| Net Revenue | $ | 6.40 Million | $ | 6.35 Million | ||||
| Mine Operating Earnings (loss) | ($ | 1.04 Million | ) | ($ | 2.72 Million | ) | ||
| Ounces Recovered | 4,141 | 3,995 | ||||||
| Ounces Sold | 4,100 | 3,982 | ||||||
| Average Sale Price | $ | 1,641 | $ | 1,698 | ||||
| Cash Cost Per Ounce* | $ | 1,568 | $ | 2,006 | ||||
| Cash Flow from Operating Activities | $ | 2.31 Million | ($ | 1.66 Million | ) | |||
| Net Gain (Loss) | ($ | 4.04 Million | ) | ($ | 4.19 Million | ) | ||
| *See Non-IFRS Results |
First Quarter Results From Operations
Revenue in the first quarter was $6.40 million and mine operating expenses, including amortization and depletion of $1.01 million, were $7.44 million which generated an operating loss of $1.04 million for the quarter. The average sale price in the quarter was $1,641 per ounce, down from $1,698 per ounce in Q4 2012. Overall, QMX Gold experienced a net loss of $4.04 million or $0.13 per share in the first quarter of 2013.
The cost per ounce during the quarter was $1,568 per ounce (see non-IFRS Measures), a decrease of approximately $500 per ounce compared to the cash costs experienced in Q4 2012. The decrease in cash costs is attributed to improvements in recovery rates at the Aurbel Mill and the new cost cutting initiatives at Lac Herbin.
Commenting on the financial results, Francois Perron, President and CEO, commented: "The Lac Herbin operations experienced challenges in the first quarter but I expect improved performance in subsequent quarters due to new initiatives undertaken and I remain confident in meeting our production guidance for the year. As a result of the recent volatility in gold prices, management decided to implement a number cost cutting initiatives. We anticipate seeing the full results of these initiatives reflected in further financial results later in the year."
Operational and Exploration Outlook
Lac Herbin
The goal of the mine for 2013 is to continue profitable operations and maintain a steady production profile to support QMX Gold guidance of 20,500 to 23,500 ounces in 2013 at a cash cost of $1,200 to $1,400. The Lac Herbin mine has experienced significant underground development and drilling to overcome the issues it faced at the end of 2012. As well, the Aurbel mill has seen its recovery rates return to 93% in the first quarter after recovery methods were modified.
QMX Gold continues exploration activities at Lac Herbin with many prospective targets including the S1 Deep Zone which was reported on in January 2013. Highlights from the drill results from the S1 Deep zone include:
- 14.9 g/t Au over 3.2 metres from hole LH-07-009
- 13.5 g/t Au over 2.0 metres from hole LH-07-010
- 11.1 g/t Au over 4.5 metres from hole LH-07-014
Full results are reported in the press release dated January 17, 2013.
Snow Lake
As management continues to work towards securing financing for the Snow Lake project, the exploration team at Snow Lake continues to optimize and de-risk the project. The current focus is to define underground exploration plan to optimize exploration potential within the current operating plan.
Complete interim financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis are available under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com and at the Company's website www.qmxgold.ca .
About QMX Gold
QMX Gold Corporation is a Canadian publicly traded mining company focusing on mine development and exploration in Quebec and Manitoba. QMX Gold continues to operate in the Val-d'Or area with production estimated at 20,500-23,500 ounces of gold per year. The Company also owns property at the Snow Lake Mine which has a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.4 million tonnes grading 4.45 g/t Au for approximately 720,000 oz of gold. The Snow Lake Mine is expected to produce 80,000 ounces of gold per year.
Full details of the Snow Lake Project are outlined in the Technical Report titled "Snow Lake Mine Re-activation Project" dated December 10, 2010 and prepared by: Andre Roy (Eng.) Jamie Lavigne (P.Geo), David West (P.Eng), Ian Ward (P.Eng), Matthew Parfitt (P.Eng), Mark Bednarz (P.Geo), which is available on the SEDAR profile of the Company at www.sedar.com .
Qualified Person
Technical programs and information included in this release have been reviewed and approved by Patrick Sévigny, Eng., Vice President of Quebec Operations and a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101.
Non-IFRS Measures
The Company has included certain non-IFRS performance measures, namely, cash costs per gold ounce sold throughout this document. In the gold mining industry, this is a common performance measure but does not have any standardized meaning, and is a non-IFRS measure. In addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, the Company and certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company's performance and ability to generate cash, profits and meet financial commitments. This non-IFRS measure is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. The following tables provide a reconciliation of cash costs per gold ounce sold for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012.
| Cash cost per ounces sold: |
| Period ending | Three months ending March 31, 2013 | Three months ending March 31, 2012 | Three months ending December 31, 2012 | Three months ending December 31, 2011 | ||||||||
| Revenue | ||||||||||||
| From commercial production ounces (CAD 000's) | $ | 6,400 | $ | 8,138 | $ | 6,337 | $ | 7,637 | ||||
| Ounces sold | 4,100 | 5,043 | $ | 3,982 | $ | 4,639 | ||||||
| Mine operating expenses (CAD 000's) | $ | 6,429 | $ | 7,756 | $ | 7,988 | $ | 9,600 | ||||
| Cash cost per ounce sold (CAD) | $ | 1,568 | $ | 1,538 | $ | 2,006 | $ | 2,069 | ||||
| (mining operating expenses divided by ounces sold) | ||||||||||||
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Mineral Resources:
This press release contains or may be deemed to contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements (express or implied) relating to production results and/or the impact of such production results with respect to the mine at Lac Herbin, the timing, cost and/or amount of future exploration and development of the property, the timing, cost and/or amount of future production, the future price of gold or other minerals, the successful implementation of development plans at any of the Company's properties and/or the future financial or operating performance of QMX Gold, its properties and/or its projects. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, its properties and/or its projects to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to those risks described in the annual information form of the Company, which is available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. It should also be noted that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
