Aurizon Mines Ltd. notched an $18 million gross profit in the first quarter of 2011, bettering Q1 of 2010 by 43%. The Toronto-listed miner chalked up $14.5 million in cash flow from operations, a 58% increase from the same period last year.
The company says its results were positively impacted by rising operating profit margins, and offset by increased exploration at its exploration properties. Revenue from its Casa Berardi operation increased, from $39.8 million in the first quarter of 2010, to $47.2 million in Q1 of 2011, on higher gold prices.
“We continued to generate strong cash flow, fund aggressive exploration programs, and improve our financial capacity in the first quarter despite operational issues at Casa Berardi.” said David Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer. “As previously indicated the Casa Berardi mine plan had projected that the first quarter would be the weakest in terms of throughput, grade and ounces produced. We anticipate that operational and financial performance will strengthen going forward, particularly in the second half of the year. We have been very active on exploration at Casa Berardi, Joanna, Marban and Fayolle with encouraging results. We look forward to commencing our summer exploration programs at Rex South, Opinaca, Wildcat and Duverny during the second quarter of this year.”
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