PROPERTY HIGHLIGHS from May 2. P/R:
Royal Gold Reports Results for Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2013
Royalty revenue of $74.2 million, a 7% increase year-over-year Operating cash flow totaled $68.1 million, a 43% increase year-over-year
Press Release: Royal Gold, Inc. 5.2.2013
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Highlights at certain of the Company’s principal producing and development properties during the quarter ended March 31, 2013 are listed below. We advise readers to refer to the public statements of the operators of each of these properties for more complete information.
Producing Properties
Andacollo– Teck reported that average daily throughput for the quarter was about 47,000 tonnes. Production increased primarily due to higher mill throughput and higher ore grades. Over the past few quarters, Andacollo has established steady state operations.
Holt– St Andrew Goldfields reported that progress continues on mine development that should allow for an incremental increase in production by the end of calendar 2013.
Mulatos– Alamos reported that increased gold production was primarily attributable to higher crusher throughput and a full quarter of production from the Escondida high-grade zone that was in commissioning in the prior year.
Peñasquito– Goldcorp’s annual guidance for Peñasquito anticipated lower production in the first half of calendar 2013 as the mine moves from a lower grade portion of the pit to higher grade ore. Goldcorp also reported that ongoing studies to develop a long-term water strategy continue to progress and that they have identified a new water source within their current permitted basin that has the potential to supply sufficient water to continue the plant ramp-up to full design capacity. Goldcorp noted that current water availability is expected to be sufficient to achieve calendar 2013 production guidance of 360,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold.
Robinson–KGHM reported that copper production increased due to improved mill recovery and higher productivity in the mine.
Voisey’s Bay – Vale reported that copper production was impacted during the quarter due primarily to feed availability as a result of a crusher failure and a severe snow storm that delayed haulage from the mine.
In late March 2013, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced amendments to their Voisey’s Bay Development Agreement including a commitment from Vale to pursue underground mining to extend the mine life. The agreement also allows Vale to continue processing concentrate outside of the province while construction is being finalized at the Long Harbour processing plant.
Wolverine –Yukon Zinc continues to make production improvements at the Wolverine mine. They have reported that process circuit modifications and the integration of new equipment have enabled these improvements.
Development Properties
Mt. Milligan– As of the end of December 2012, Thompson Creek estimated that project completion was at 81%. They also reported that the Mt. Milligan project remains on schedule with initial production to commence in the third calendar quarter of 2013, followed by commercial production expected in the fourth calendar quarter of 2013.
Pascua-Lama– As of March 31, 2013, Barrick reported it had spent approximately $4.8 billion on the construction of the Pascua-Lama project. About 70% of the structural steel was erected for the process plant facility, 65% of the concrete has been poured, 55% of earthworks was completed, and the ore conveyance tunnel was approximately 80% complete.
During the fourth quarter of calendar 2012, Barrick reported that pre-stripping activities in Chile were halted to address increased dust in the open pit area and that the project has since strengthened dust mitigation and control measures. In addition, regulatory restrictions have also been placed on the project due to the need to repair and improve certain aspects of the water management system in Chile. Completion of measures to address these aspects is targeted for the first quarter of calendar 2014.
Subsequently, Barrick suspended construction work on the Chilean side of the project in April in response to a preliminary injunction issued by a Chilean court. The action alleges non-compliance with the environmental requirements of the project’s Chilean environmental approval. Construction activities in Argentina, where the majority of the project’s critical infrastructure is located, including the process plant and tailings storage facility, were not affected.
Given these pending regulatory and legal issues, Barrick stated on April 24, 2013, that they were unable to fully assess the impact on the capital budget, operating costs and schedule of the project.
Additional Property Information
Third quarter fiscal 2013 production and revenue for the Company’s principal interests are shown in Table 1 and historical production data is shown in Table 2.
For more detailed information about each of our principal interests, please refer to
the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K,
our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and
Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC
....and available on the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov, or our website located at www.royalgold.com.
