29 Jan 2020 07:00
29 January 2020
Trans-Siberian Gold plc
("TSG" or the "Company")
2020 Production, Cost & Dividend Guidance
Trans-Siberian Gold plc (TSG.LN), a high grade gold producer in Russia, is pleased to provide its production and cost guidance for 2020 together with a dividend update. All amounts are expressed in US dollars.
Guidance
TSG is expecting 2020 gold production of between 38,000 and 42,000 ounces, closely in line with recent performance.
The Company expects Total Cash Costs1 for 2020 to remain within the range of $780 and $860 an ounce, with All-In Sustaining Costs2 of between $900 and $1000 per ounce.
Significant operating cash flows and existing financing enable TSG to reinvest aggressively in resource expansion and discovery drilling at the high-grade Asacha Gold Mine, as well as progressing with the evaluation of the Rodnikova gold deposit.
Alexander Dorogov, Chief Executive Officer of TSG, commented:
"Following a record year of operational performance and revenues, we are extremely well placed to push forward with our drilling campaign focused on expanding the mineral resource at our flagship asset; the Asacha Gold Mine. We plan to commence mining in the East Zone of the mine this year and as a result maintain stable gold production and cost performance. We look forward to continuing to invest in our operations and adding value for all our stakeholders. The Company reiterates its firm commitment to continue returning capital to its shareholders through dividends in the coming year."
Gold production | (ounces) | 38,000 - 42,000 | |
Total Cash Cost1 | ($/ounce) | 780 - 860 | |
All-In Sustaining Costs (AISC)2 | ($/ounce) | 900 - 1000 | |
Growth Capital | ($ million) | 10.7 | |
Sustaining Capital | ($ million) | 1.4 |
Dividends
Since 2015, TSG has returned a total of $21.5 million to its shareholders in the form of dividends.
In line with the Company's proven track record of returning capital to its shareholders, TSG sets out to pay a base level of sustainable dividends through the commodities cycle of approximately $3 million per annum. In addition, the Board assesses the merits of additional returns to shareholders via special dividends, to be paid from cash flows in excess of the Group's needs when taking into account debt repayments, exploration and development capital expenditure. If appropriate, the Group will continue to pay special dividends at an appropriate time in its reporting cycle. Over the last five years, the Company has paid out $11.2 million as special dividends.
The Board's strategy is to maintain a balance between sustainable and attractive shareholder returns, investment in growth opportunities and balance sheet strength.
ENDS
Contacts: |
|
TSG Stewart Dickson | +44 (0) 7799 694195 |
Arden Partners plc Paul Shackleton (Corporate Finance)Tim Dainton / Fraser Marshall (Equity Sales) | +44 (0) 207 614 5900 |
Hudson Sandler (Financial PR) Charlie Jack / Katerina Parker / Elfreda Kent | +44 (0) 207 796 4133 |
About TSG
TSG is focused on low cost, high grade mining operations and stable gold production from its 100% owned Asacha Gold Mine in Far East Russia. The Company also holds the licence for the development and exploration of the Rodnikova deposit, one of the largest gold fields in South Kamchatka.
Additional information is available from the Company's website: www.trans-siberiangold.com
Non-IFRS Disclosure
The Company believes that investors use certain non-IFRS measures as indicators to assess gold mining companies, specifically Total Cash Costs per Ounce and All-In Sustaining Cash Costs per Ounce. In the gold mining industry, these are common performance measures but do not have any standardized meaning. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company's performance and ability to generate cash flow. Accordingly, it 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.
(1) Total Cash Costs per Ounce of Gold: Total cash costs include mine site operating costs such as mining, processing and local administrative costs, royalties, production taxes, mine standby costs and current inventory write downs, if any. Production costs are exclusive of depreciation and depletion, reclamation, capital and exploration costs. Total cash costs per gold ounce are net of by-product silver sales and are divided by gold ounces sold to arrive at a per ounce figure.
(2) All-In Sustaining Costs per Ounce of Gold: A performance measure that reflects all of the expenditures that are required to produce an ounce of gold from current operations. While there is no standardized meaning of the measure across the industry, the Company's definition is derived from the AISC definition as set out by the World Gold Council in its guidance dated June 27, 2013 and November 16, 2018. The World Gold Council is a non-regulatory, non-profit organization established in 1987 whose members include global senior mining companies. The Company believes that this measure will be useful to external users in assessing operating performance and the ability to generate free cash flow from current operations. The Company defines AISC as the sum of total cash costs (per above), sustaining capital (capital required to maintain current operations at existing levels), capital lease repayments, corporate general and administrative expenses, in-mine exploration expenses and rehabilitation accretion and amortization related to current operations. AISC excludes capital expenditures for significant improvements at existing operations deemed to be expansionary in nature, exploration and evaluation related to growth projects, rehabilitation accretion and amortization not related to current operations, financing costs, debt repayments, and taxes. Total all-in sustaining costs are divided by gold ounces sold to arrive at a per ounce figure.
Market Abuse Regulations
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Abbreviations
oz ounce
Disclaimer
This announcement contains "forward-looking statements" - that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should" or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets, fluctuations in interest and/or exchange rates and metal prices; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different that those expressed in our forward-looking statements.