QUEBEC CITY, Aug. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robex Resources Inc. («?Robex?», "the Group" or "the Company") (TSXV: RBX/FWB: RB4) reports its financial performance for the quarter ended June 30, 2021.
All amounts are presented in Canadian dollars (CAD).
The second quarter of 2021 shows improvement, and we expect this trend to continue in the coming months.
We are still working on our mining strategy by developing a new strategic mine plan that will allow us to optimize the exploitation of our resources and plan our cash flow for the longer term.
Our operation is improving with the start-up of the new cone crusher. We have ordered additional equipment to further optimize the crushing circuit. This will allow the plant to increase the proportion of transition ore in the plant feed. To be precise, this will enable us to process harder and generally higher-grade ore located at the bottom of the old pit.
Overall, the stripping remains temporarily high. Our mine plan optimization work indicates that the stripping ratio should soon decrease. The increased production and the higher grades enabled us to improve our cash performance, despite the difficulty to have our VAT refunded. The total VAT to be refunded now stands at $8.4 million as of June 30, 2021.
The solar power plant construction work has begun and will be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
The procedures in place since last year to combat COVID-19 are still in effect and have allowed us to limit the impact of this pandemic on our operations, but we are remaining vigilant.
Highlights:
- GOLD SALES OF 11,739 OUNCES FOR $26.1 MILLION
Gold sales of $26.1 million for the second quarter of 2021 compared to $15.7 million for the same period in 2020. This increase is due to a greater amount of gold sold, 11,739 ounces compared to 6,500 ounces. As of June 30, 2020, 7,831 ounces of gold bullion were available for sale and were sold during the third quarter of 2020.
- OPERATING RESULTS OF $9.8 MILLION, A STRONG IMPROVEMENT
Operating results of $9.8 million compared to $0.2 million for the same period in 2020, including respectively $3.2 million and $6.8 million in depreciation of fixed assets.
- CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIESi OF $12.4 MILLIONS
Positive cash flows from operating activities of $12.4 million compared to $7.5 million for the same period in 2020.
- STABLE LONG-TERM DEBT
The Group's long-term debt of $6.9 million as of June 30, 2021, compared to $6.6 million as of December 31, 2020, including new bank loan for, among other things, purchase vehicles, and reduce these costs.
- POSITIVE WORKING CAPITAL WITH A SLIGHT INCREASE
Positive working capital of $10 million as of June 30, 2021, compared to positive working capital of $8.8 million as of December 31, 2020.
- $6.6 MILLION MAJOR INVESTMENT IN STRIPPING
As planned, increase in production costs capitalized as stripping cost of $4.3 million compared to the same period in 2020, explained by the opening of 4 new pits around the main pit. A total of 2.4 million tonnes of waste mined were excavated, representing an average stripping ratio of 4.8. As previously indicated, these costs are expected to reduce with the new mine plan.
- INVESTMENT OF $1.8 MILLION IN EXPLORATION
Exploration investments of $1 million on the Nampala exploitation permit and $0.8 million on the exploration of Mininko and Sanoula permits.
Mining Operation - Nampala:
| Quarters ended June 30, | Halves ended June 30, | |||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020 | |
| Operating Data | ||||
| Ore mined (tonnes) | 507,986 | 456,091 | 985,336 | 958,371 |
| Ore processed (tonnes) | 474,435 | 483,460 | 946,845 | 960,180 |
| Waste mined (tonnes) | 2,413,671 | 1,014,426 | 5,133,709 | 2,365,232 |
| Operational stripping ratio | 4.8 | 2.2 | 5.2 | 2.5 |
| Head grade (g/t) | 0.82 | 1.00 | 0.79 | 1.05 |
| Recovery | 89.2% | 89.5% | 90.9% | 89.1% |
| Gold ounces produced | 11,124 | 13,921 | 21,766 | 28,839 |
| Gold ounces sold | 11,739 | 6,500 | 23,241 | 21,146 |
| Financial Data | ||||
| (rounded off to the nearest thousand dollars) | ||||
| Revenue - Gold sales | 26,051,000 | 15,714,000 | 52,292,000 | 46,578,000 |
| Mining operation expenses | 8,892,000 | 3,728,000 | 18,080,000 | 11,163,000 |
| Mining royalties | 653,000 | 370,000 | 1,309,000 | 1,141,000 |
| Administrative expenses | 2,196,000 | 2,551,000 | 4,440,000 | 4,200,000 |
| Depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets | 3,190,000 | 6,759,000 | 5,822,000 | 14,147,000 |
| Segment operating income | 11,120,000 | 2,306,000 | 22,641,000 | 15 927,000 |
| Statistics | ||||
| (in dollars) | ||||
| Average realized selling price (per ounce) | 2,219 | 2,418 | 2,250 | 2,203 |
| Cash operating cost (per tonne processed) ii | 18 | 15 | 18 | 16 |
| Total cash cost (per ounce sold) ii | 813 | 631 | 834 | 582 |
| All-in sustaining cost (per ounce sold) ii | 1,560 | 1,261 | 1,645 | 1,058 |
| Adjusted all-in sustaining cost (per ounce sold) ii | 912 | 747 | 981 | 725 |
| Administrative expenses (per ounce sold) | 187 | 392 | 191 | 199 |
| Depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets (per ounce sold) | 272 | 1,040 | 251 | 669 |
Robex's MD&A and the condensed interim consolidated financial statements. These reports and other documents produced by the Company are also available at sedar.com.
A Word from the Chairman, Mr. Georges Cohen:
"We are pleased to present the results for the second quarter of 2021. As announced in the previous quarter's release, we are already seeing a significant improvement over the first quarter of 2021, with production up 4.5% and all-in sustaining costs ii down 10%. This improvement should continue for the remainder of the year, thanks to the operational initiatives we implemented during the first half of the year to optimize our overall operation (strategic mining plan revision, plant investments, processing capacity improvement).
We continue to work hard on all growth options for Robex's operations."
For more information:
Robex Resources Inc.
Benjamin Cohen, CEO
Aurélien Bonneviot, investors relations and corporate development
investor@robexgold.com
www.robexgold.com
Head office: +1 (581) 741-7421
This news release contains statements that may be considered "forecast information" or "forecast statements" in terms of security rights. These forecasts are subject to uncertainties and risks, some of which are beyond the control of Robex. Achievements and final results may differ significantly from forecasts made implicitly or explicitly. These differences can be attributed to many factors, including geopolitical risk, market volatility, the impact of the exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, mispricing, the environment (hardening of regulations), unforeseen geological situations, unfavourable operating conditions, political risks inherent in mining in developing countries, changes in government policies or regulations (laws and policies), an inability to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government agencies, or any other risk associated with mining and development. There can be no assurance that the circumstances set out in these forecasts will occur, or even benefit Robex, if any. The forecasts are based on the estimates and opinions of the Robex management team at the time of publication. Robex makes no commitment to make any updates or changes to these publicly available forecasts based on new information or events, or for any other reason, except as required by applicable security laws. The TSX Venture Exchange or the Regulation Services Provider (as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) assumes no responsibility for the authenticity or accuracy of this news release.
i Cash flows from operating activities exclude net change in non-cash working capital items.
ii Cash operating cost, total cash cost, all-in sustaining cost and adjusted all-in sustaining cost are non-IFRS financial measures for which there is no standardized definition under IFRS. Se the "Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures" section of the MD&A.
