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Fourth Quarter Report for the 3 months ended 31 Dec 2013

21 Jan 2014 07:00

AFRICAN BARRICK GOLD PLC - Fourth Quarter Report for the 3 months ended 31 Dec 2013

AFRICAN BARRICK GOLD PLC - Fourth Quarter Report for the 3 months ended 31 Dec 2013

PR Newswire

London, January 20

AFRICAN BARRICK GOLD LSE: ABG 21 January 2014 Fourth Quarter Report for the three months ended 31 December 2013 Based on IFRS and expressed in US Dollars (US$) African Barrick Gold plc ("ABG'') reports fourth quarter production results "We are pleased to deliver another strong production quarter together with thefifth successive reduction in quarterly all-in sustaining costs. This is drivenby the changes we are implementing to the business with Q4 AISC of US$1,171 perounce 30% lower than twelve months ago", said Brad Gordon, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of African Barrick Gold. "We have comfortably exceeded the top end ofour initial production guidance range for 2013 due to strong performances fromNorth Mara and Buzwagi and saw cash costs come in 10% below the bottom of theinitial cash cost guidance range. The performance of Bulyanhulu continues toimprove with a 10% step up in grade in Q4 2013 and strong cost performance. Weare also pleased that the Environmental Protection Order at North Mara has beenlifted, removing an operational constraint and underlining ABG's focus onoperating responsibly." Highlights * Fourth quarter gold production of 165,374 ounces and sales of 168,177 ounces * Preliminary fourth quarter all-in sustaining cost of US$1,171 per ounce sold, down 30% on Q4 2012 and 8% on Q3 2013 * Preliminary fourth quarter cash costs of US$774 per ounce sold, 19% lower than Q4 2012 * Full year 2013 production of 641,931 ounces with full year sales of 649,742 ounces, 7% above the upper end of 2013 production guidance of 540,000 - 600,000 ounces * Cash balance of approximately US$282 million as at 31 December 2013 * The average realised price of US$1,251 per ounce over the quarter and US$1,379 per ounce for the full year were 26% and 17% respectively lower than the prior year * Agreement reached to transfer Tulawaka to STAMICO, with completion expected in Q1 2014 * Environmental Protection Order at North Mara lifted African Barrick Gold plc Three months ended Year ended 31 December 31 December (Unaudited) 2013 2012 2013 2012 Operating results Tonnes mined (thousands of tonnes) 11,570 13,942 54,100 48,301 Ore tonnes mined (thousands of 2,151 2,266 7,250 7,070tonnes) Ore tonnes processed (thousands of 1,817 2,067 7,979 7,698tonnes) Process recovery rate (percent) 88.5% 90.0% 88.5% 88.3% Head grade (grams per tonne) 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.9 Attributable gold production 165,374 180,684 641,931 626,212(ounces)¹ Attributable gold sold (ounces)¹ 168,177 159,585 649,742 609,252 Average realised gold price per 1,251 1,700 1,379 1,668ounce sold2 (US$) Copper production (thousands of 3,548 4,266 11,970 12,875pounds) Cash cost per ounce sold2 774 958 827 941(preliminary) All in sustaining cost per ounce 1,171 1,675 1,362 1,584sold2 (US$) (preliminary) 1 Attributable production and sold ounces reflect equity ounces which exclude30% of Tulawaka's production base. 2 Average realised price, cash cost per ounce sold and all-in sustaining costper ounce sold are non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standardmeaning under IFRS. Refer to "Non-IFRS measures" on page 6 for each definition. For further information, please visit our website: www.africanbarrickgold.comor contact: African Barrick Gold plc +44 (0) 207 129 7150Brad Gordon, Chief Executive OfficerAndrew Wray, Chief Financial Officer Giles Blackham, Investor Relations Manager +44 (0) 207 861 3232Bell PottingerDaniel Thöle About ABG ABG is Tanzania's largest gold producer and one of the largest gold producersin Africa. We have three producing mines, all located in Northwest Tanzania,and several exploration projects at various stages of development in Tanzaniaand Kenya. We have a high-quality asset base, solid growth opportunities and aclear strategy of optimising, expanding and growing our business. Maintaining our licence to operate through acting responsibly in relation toour people, the environment and the communities in which we operate is centralto achieving our objectives. ABG is a UK public company with its headquarters in London. We are listed onthe Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol ABG and have asecondary listing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. Historically and priorto our initial public offering (IPO), our operations comprised the Tanzaniangold mining business of Barrick Gold Corporation, our majority shareholder. ABGreports in US dollars in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union,unless otherwise stated in this report. Conference call A conference call will be held for analysts and investors on 21 January 2014 at09.00 London time. The access details for the conference call are as follows: Participant +44 (0) 203 003 2666 / +1 646 843 4608dial in: Password: ABG A recording of the conference call will be made available atwww.africanbarrickgold.com after the call. FORWARD- LOOKING STATEMENTS This report includes "forward-looking statements" that express or implyexpectations of future events or results. Forward-looking statements arestatements that are not historical facts. These statements include, withoutlimitation, financial projections and estimates and their underlyingassumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations withrespect to future production, operations, costs, products and services, andstatements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements aregenerally identified by the words "plans," "expects," "anticipates,""believes," "intends," "estimates" and other similar expressions. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties andother factors, many of which are beyond the control of ABG, which could causeactual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in,or implied by, the forward-looking statements contained in this report. Factorsthat could cause or contribute to differences between the actual results,performance and achievements of ABG include, but are not limited to, changes ordevelopments in political, economic or business conditions or national or locallegislation in countries in which ABG conducts or may in the future conductbusiness, industry trends, competition, fluctuations in the spot and forwardprice of gold or certain other commodity prices, changes in regulation,currency fluctuations (including the US dollar, South African rand, Kenyanshilling and Tanzanian shilling exchange rates), ABG's ability to successfullyintegrate acquisitions, ABG's ability to recover its reserves or develop newreserves, including its ability to convert its resources into reserves and itsmineral potential into resources or reserves, and to process its mineralreserves successfully and in a timely manner, ABG's ability to complete landacquisitions required to support its mining activities, operational ortechnical difficulties which may occur in the context of mining activities,delays and technical challenges associated with the completion of projects,risk of trespass, theft and vandalism, changes in its business strategyincluding, without limitation, ABG's successful implementation of theOperational Review, as well as risks and hazards associated with the businessof mineral exploration, development, mining and production and risks andfactors affecting the gold mining industry in general. Although ABG'smanagement believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-lookingstatements are reasonable, ABG cannot give assurances that such statements willprove to be correct. Accordingly, investors should not place reliance onforward-looking statements contained in this report. Any forward-lookingstatements in this report only reflect information available at the time ofpreparation. Subject to the requirements of the Disclosure and TransparencyRules and the Listing Rules or applicable law, ABG explicitly disclaims anyobligation or undertaking publicly to update or revise any forward-lookingstatements in this report, whether as a result of new information, futureevents or otherwise. Nothing in this report should be construed as a profitforecast or estimate and no statement made should be interpreted to mean thatABG's profits or earnings per share for any future period will necessarilymatch or exceed the historical published profits or earnings per share of ABG Operating update for the three months and year ended 31 December 2013 Attributable gold production for the quarter totalled 165,374 ounces, a slightincrease on the third quarter and a 9% decrease on the corresponding quarter of2012. Lower production was primarily a result of lower grades at Buzwagicompared to Q4 2012, reduced throughput at North Mara due to planned plantdowntime and the cessation of operations at Tulawaka. This was partially offsetby the increased production at Bulyanhulu driven by a 10% increase in grade. The improved performance at Bulyanhulu was a result of largely addressing pastefill delivery issues by improving paste plant availability and increasing thenumber of paste fill lines, which improved access to higher grade stopes. Whiletonnes hoisted and mill throughput remained in line with the correspondingquarter in 2012, head grade increased by 10% to 7.9 g/t compared to Q4 2012. At Buzwagi, the process plant continues to operate at nameplate capacity of12,000 tonnes per day, but overall throughput was impacted by predominantlyplanned plant downtime during Q4 2013. As a result, throughput was 11% lowerthan in Q4 2012. Mine grade for the quarter increased as expected, but was 10%lower than the same quarter in 2012 due to focused mining of high grade orezones in Q4 2012. This also resulted in a 2% decrease in recovery. At North Mara, as in Q3 2013 we continued to see high grades from mining inGokona, resulting in a 13% increase in grade compared to Q4 2012. This wasoffset by a 13% decrease in throughput as a result of planned crushermaintenance downtime in December 2013 and a 3% decrease in recovery. Gold sold for the quarter was 168,177 ounces, a 5% increase on thecorresponding quarter of 2012. Gold ounces sold were 2% higher than goldproduced as a result of gold on hand from Q3 2013 being sold. Tonnes mined for the quarter were 11.6 million compared to 13.9 million in thecorresponding quarter of 2012. The decrease was primarily driven by the impactof the implementation of the optimised mine plans at Buzwagi and North Mara. Tonnes processed in the fourth quarter were 1.8 million tonnes, 12% lower thanthe corresponding quarter of 2012. The decrease was mainly due to the plantdowntime relating to scheduled maintenance at Buzwagi and North Mara. The average grade processed for the quarter was 3.2 grams per tonne which was7% higher than the prior year period. The increase in grade was predominantlydue to North Mara and Bulyanhulu and was in part offset by lower grade atBuzwagi. Copper production for the quarter was 3.5 million pounds, 17% lower than theprior year period, driven by lower copper grades at Buzwagi when compared to Q42012. This was offset by a slight increase in copper grades at Bulyanhulu. For the full year, production of 641,931 ounces represented a 3% increase onthe prior year and 7% higher than the upper end of 2013 production guidance of540,000 - 600,000 ounces. Gold sales for the full year were 1% above productionat 649,742 ounces. The cash balance as at 31 December 2013 amounted to approximately US$282million, with the US$142 million export credit facility fully drawn down atyear end. The average realised price amounted to US$1,251 per ounce for the quarter andUS$1,379 per ounce for the full year. This was 26% and 17% respectively lowerthan the prior year comparisons, reflecting the decrease in the market price. Other developments Transfer of Tulawaka Gold Mine As previously announced, we have reached an agreement with STAMICO, theTanzanian State Mining Corporation, whereby STAMICO will acquire the TulawakaGold Mine ("Tulawaka") and certain exploration licenses surrounding Tulawakafor consideration of US$4.5 million and the grant of a 2% net smelter royaltyon future production in excess of 500,000 ounces, capped at US$500,000. As part of the agreement, STAMICO will take ownership and management of therehabilitation fund established as part of the closure plan for the mine, inreturn for the assumption of all remaining past and future closure andrehabilitation liabilities for Tulawaka, and will indemnify the other partiesto the agreement in relation to these liabilities. This will result in a cashpayment by ABG to STAMICO of the balance of the rehabilitation fund, whichcurrently stands at US$16.8 million, less the transaction consideration due oncompletion. We are currently awaiting final regulatory approvals, and expect thetransaction to be completed in Q1 2014. Lifting of Environmental Protection Order ("EPO") at North Mara In December 2013 we completed the final step in the lifting of the EPO that hasbeen in force at North Mara since 2009 and received a formal discharge permitfrom the Lake Victoria Water Board. The award of the discharge permit followsthe completion of an extensive joint water sampling programme, rehabilitationof affected areas, a community awareness programme and the commissioning of awater treatment plant at the mine. The removal of the EPO allows ABG todischarge clean water once it has been treated in the water treatment plant atthe mine. Mine site summary Bulyanhulu Three months ended Twelve months ended 31 December 31 December (Unaudited) 2013 2012 2013 2012 Underground ore tonnes Kt 222 214 872 959hoisted Ore milled Kt 229 230 871 1,012 Head grade g/t 7.9 7.2 7.8 8.0 Mill recovery % 91.2% 89.8% 90.9% 90.6% Ounces produced oz 53,186 47,684 198,286 236,183 Ounces sold oz 56,735 46,306 195,304 235,410 Copper production `000lbs 1,348 1,206 4,855 6,102 Copper sold `000lbs 1,304 1,293 4,508 5,895 Gold production at Bulyanhulu for the quarter was 53,186 ounces, 12% higherthan the prior year period and in line with the previous quarter. The increasein production was primarily due to a 10% improvement in grade compared to Q42012, as availability of high grade stopes increased due to improvements inpaste filling. Gold ounces sold for the quarter of 56,735 were 7% higher thanproduction due to the sale of concentrate on hand from Q3 2013. For the full year 2013, gold production of 198,286 ounces at Bulyanhulu was 16%lower than the prior year mainly due to lower tonnes mined as a result ofreduced equipment and staff availability noted in the first half of the year.This was further impacted by a 3% decrease in grade due to paste fill delays inH1 2013 impacting on the availability of high grade stopes. This has since beenaddressed and paste filling has recovered to expected levels. Gold ounces soldfor the year of 195,304 ounces were 17% below that of the prior year primarilydue to the lower production base. Copper production in the fourth quarter of 1.3 million pounds was 12% higherthan that of the same period in 2012 driven by improved copper grades in Q42013. For the full year, copper production of 4.9 million pounds was 20% lowerthan the prior year's production of 6.1 million in line with reduced throughputand grades. At Bulyanhulu we are in the process of completing the review of the life ofmine using a US$1,300 gold price to calculate our reserves as well as assessingthe most appropriate long-term mining methods. Although the impact of this islikely to see a reduction in the reserves, Bulyanhulu remains a long life, highgrade asset, as demonstrated by the recently released exploration results, andwe are confident it will deliver an increasing production profile at lowercosts than at present. Buzwagi Three months ended Twelve months ended 31 December 31 December (Unaudited) 2013 2012 2013 2012 Tonnes mined Kt 7,244 7,907 32,177 28,563 Ore tonnes mined Kt 1,250 1,325 3,753 4,233 Ore milled Kt 945 1,062 4,400 3,715 Head grade g/t 1.9 2.1 1.5 1.6 Mill recovery % 88.8% 90.9% 88.2% 87.3% Ounces produced oz 51,830 64,828 181,984 165,770 Ounces sold oz 50,382 51,264 187,348 155,322 Copper production `000lbs 2,200 3,059 7,115 6,773 Copper sold `000lbs 1,706 1,945 7,062 5,628 Gold production at Buzwagi for the quarter was 51,830 ounces, up 17% on Q32013, but 20% lower than the prior year period. This was mainly a result of a10% decrease in grade against Q4 2012 when mining focused on higher gradeareas. The process plant continues to operate at its nameplate capacity of12,000 tonnes per day, although due to predominantly planned plant downtime formaintenance purposes, throughput for the quarter of 0.9 million tonnes was 11%lower than in Q4 2012. Gold sold during the quarter amounted to 50,382 ounces, broadly in line withproduction. Gold production for the full year of 181,984 ounces was 10% higher than theprior year driven by increased throughput as a result of improved plantreliability as it operated at nameplate capacity during 2013. Gold sold for theyear amounted to 187,348 ounces, 21% above that of the prior year period due tothe increased production base and the sale of concentrate on hand from Q4 2012. Copper production in the fourth quarter of 2.2 million pounds was 28% lowerthan that of the same period in 2012 driven by lower copper grades. For thefull year, copper production of 7.1 million pounds was 5% higher than in 2012driven by the increased throughput, slightly offset by lower copper grades. North Mara Three months ended Twelve months ended 31 December 31 December (Unaudited) 2013 2012 2013 2012 Tonnes mined Kt 4,104 5,788 21,027 18,391 Ore tonnes mined Kt 678 694 2,601 1,711 Ore milled Kt 643 740 2,643 2,786 Head grade g/t 3.4 3.0 3.5 2.5 Mill recovery % 86.0% 88.7% 86.8% 85.4% Ounces produced oz 60,358 63,235 256,732 193,231 Ounces sold oz 61,050 56,800 260,945 186,600 Gold production for the quarter at North Mara of 60,358 ounces was 5% belowthat of the prior year period. A 13% increase in grade due to increased minegrade received from the Gokona pit compared to Q4 2012, as we continue to seepositive variations from the grade control model being used, was more thanoffset by the impact on throughput of a planned 10 day maintenance shutdown inDecember together with marginally lower recoveries Gold sold for the quarter was 61,050 ounces, broadly in line with production. Production for the full year of 256,732 ounces was 33% higher than that of theprior year. Head grade and mill recovery were positively impacted by anincrease in ore tonnes mined and grade, predominantly driven by mining from theGokona pit. Gold ounces sold for the full year of 260,945 ounces were 2% higher thanproduction due to the sale of ounces on hand from Q4 2012, and 40% higher thanthat of 2012 due to the increased production base. As announced as part of the third quarter results, we have deferred mining ofGokona Cut 3 at North Mara while we finalise the feasibility study intoalternatives of mining this reserve. This deferral will be taken into account,together with our revised reserve base, in our year-end review of the carryingvalue of the asset. We have completed all the conditions required for the lifting of theEnvironmental Protection Order at North Mara and have received a formaldischarge permit from the Lake Victoria Water Board. The removal of the EPOallows ABG to discharge clean water once it has been treated in the watertreatment plant at the mine. Non-IFRS financial measures ABG has identified certain measures in this report that are not measuresdefined under IFRS. Non-IFRS financial measures disclosed by management areprovided as additional information to investors in order to provide them withan alternative method for assessing ABG's financial condition and operatingresults. These measures are not in accordance with, or a substitute for, IFRS,and may be different from or inconsistent with non-IFRS financial measures usedby other companies. These measures are explained further below. Average realised gold price per ounce sold is a non-IFRS financial measurewhich excludes from gold revenue: * Unrealised gains and losses on non hedge derivative contracts * Unrealised mark to market gains and losses on provisional pricing from copper and gold sales contracts; and * Export duties. Cash cost per ounce sold is a non-IFRS financial measure. Cash costs includeall costs absorbed into inventory, as well as royalties, by-product credits,and production taxes, and exclude capitalised production stripping costs,inventory purchase accounting adjustments, unrealised gains/losses fromnon-hedge currency and commodity contracts, depreciation and amortisation andsocial development costs. Cash cost is calculated net of co-product revenue. The presentation of these statistics in this manner allows ABG to monitor andmanage those factors that impact production costs on a monthly basis. ABGcalculates cash costs based on its equity interest in production from itsmines. Cash cost per ounce sold are calculated by dividing the aggregate ofthese costs by gold ounces sold. Cash costs and cash cost per ounce sold arecalculated on a consistent basis for the periods presented. All-in sustaining cost per ounce sold (AISC) is a non-IFRS financial measure.The measure is in accordance with the World Gold Council's guidance issued inJune 2013. It is calculated by taking cash costs per ounce sold, and addingcorporate administration costs, reclamation and remediation costs for operatingmines, corporate social responsibility expenses, mine exploration and studycosts, capitalised stripping and underground development costs and sustainingcapital expenditure. This is then divided by the total ounces sold. AISC isintended to provide additional information of what the total sustaining costfor each ounce sold is, taking into account expenditure incurred in addition todirect mining costs, depreciation and selling costs. Mining statistical information The following describes certain line items used in the ABG Group's discussionof key performance indicators: * Open pit material mined - measures in tonnes the total amount of open pit ore and waste mined. * Underground ore tonnes hoisted - measures in tonnes the total amount of underground ore mined and hoisted. * Total tonnes mined include open pit material plus underground ore tonnes hoisted. * Strip ratio - measures the ratio waste-to-ore for open pit material mined. * Ore milled - measures in tonnes the amount of ore material processed through the mill. * Head grade - measures the metal content of mined ore going into a mill for processing. * Milled recovery - measures the proportion of valuable metal physically recovered in the processing of ore. It is generally stated as a percentage of the metal recovered compared to the total metal originally present.
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