Timmins Gold earns $84m at San Francisco Gold in first year

Frik Els | June 30, 2011 | 6:32 pm Precious Metals Latin America Gold

Timmins Gold Corp. reported an annual net profit of $11.5m for 2011, the first year of commercial operations of its San Francisco gold project in Mexico. The nine cent a share profit on revenues of $84.3m reported Thursday compared with a net loss of $8.6m last year when the company’s income was zero.

The company expects to average annual gold production of approximately 100,000 ounces at base case life of mine cash costs of US$489 per ounce. Timmins moved to the Toronto main board in March where it is worth some $137m.

2010/2011 Highlights:

The San Francisco gold project commenced commercial production in April 2010 making fiscal 2011 the first year of operations for the Company.
Income from operations was $35,106,384 in fiscal 2011, compared to a loss from operations in fiscal 2010 of $6,546,016 representing a $41,652,400 increase over the prior year.
Cash flow from operations during fiscal 2011 increased to $43,380,416 compared to cash used in operations of $15,793,611 in fiscal 2010.
The Company produced 65,786 ounces of gold during fiscal 2011, and sold 62,761 ounces of gold. The Company commenced commercial production in April, 2010 and realized sequential quarter over quarter improvements in operations and financial performance during the year.
The Company’s cash cost per ounce in fiscal 2011 was US$530 per gold ounce, with a cash cost per gold ounce in Q4 of US$527
Revenue from metals was $84,351,172 compared to $nil in the prior year.
In June 2011 the Company replaced and restructured the $15 million gold- linked debt facility (the “Gold Loan”) with an $18 million credit agreement. The new credit agreement does not contain any payments which are indexed to movements in gold prices and thus allows the Company to freely realize current gold prices. In addition the new facility does not carry a guaranteed minimum payment as outlined in the previous Gold Loan.
In April 2010 the Company announced an increase in the mineral resource estimate at the San Francisco gold project with an increase in measured and indicated resources to 895,725 gold ounces and the inferred resource to 154,038 gold ounces. A further update was provided in November 2010 incorporating new drilling with an increase in the mineral reserve and mineral resource for San Francisco to 780,000 gold ounces from 611,000 gold ounces, or a 28% increase.
In November 2011, a NI 43-101 F1 updated resources and reserves and mine plan for the San Francisco gold mine was prepared by MICON International Limited. The highlights of the report outlined the following:
Total gold produced of 539,699 from 2011 to 2016
Average annual gold production of approximately 100,000 ounces of gold
Base case life of mine cash costs of US$489 per ounce
Strip Ratio of 1.73
Increase in crushing capacity to 18,000 tonnes per day
In February 2011, the Company staked an additional 95,000 hectares of claims along the highly prospective Sonora-Mojave Megashear structural province of Northern Sonora, Mexico. The Company’s semi contiguous claims along the Sonora-Mojave Megashear now total approximately 165,000 hectares.
In November, 2010, the Company signed an option agreement whereby a 100% interest in a 12,000 hectare claim on the eastern section of Soltoro Ltd.’s Quila claim in Jalisco, Mexico may be earned. To earn the 100% interest, the Company must make a total of $1,000,000 in cash payments and incur $2,000,000 in exploration expenditures on the Property over 3 years. On signing the Company made an initial $100,000 payment to Soltoro.
In March 2011, the Company received conditional approval for listing its common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), and effective March 23, 2011, the common shares were listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol TMM, and delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange.