Titan Mining Corporation (TSX: TI) (“
Titan”
or the "
Company") announces the results for the
year ended December 31, 2023. (All amounts are in U.S. dollars
unless otherwise stated).
Don Taylor, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Titan, commented, “Titan finished 2023 with a strong
fourth quarter in both safety and production which allowed Empire
State Mine (“ESM”) to produce a record 61.0 million payable zinc
pounds in 2023. As we enter 2024 our plans are to continue the
upward trajectory on production while improving our safety
performance.”
FY 2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
- Safest year of
operations on record at the Empire State Mine since re-opening,
with an injury frequency rate of 0.7, 70% lower than the national
average.
- Produced 13.9
million pounds of payable zinc in the fourth quarter of 2023 and a
record 61 million payable pounds of zinc in 2023, a 16% increase
over the prior year.
- Announced the
discovery of the Kilbourne graphite trend, an extensively
drill-tested graphite-bearing trend located on permitted lands.
- Drilling began
in December 2023 with eight holes totaling 2,074 ft completed to
date with an additional 10,000 ft scheduled for 2024.
- An initial bulk
sample was identified and collected in January 2024.
TABLE 1 Financial and Operating Highlights
|
|
Q4 2023 |
Q3 2023 |
Q2 2023 |
Q1 2023 |
FY 2023 |
Operating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payable Zinc Produced |
mlbs |
13.9 |
18.3 |
15.0 |
13.8 |
61.0 |
Payable
Zinc Sold |
mlbs |
13.9 |
18.3 |
15.0 |
14.8 |
62.0 |
Average Realized Zinc
Price |
$/lb |
1.13 |
1.10 |
1.15 |
1.42 |
1.19 |
Financial |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue |
$m |
10.91 |
15.50 |
8.95 |
16.74 |
52.09 |
Net
Income (loss) after tax |
$m |
(6.96) |
0.50 |
(4.84) |
1.10 |
(10.20) |
Earnings (loss) per share - basic |
$/sh |
(0.05) |
0.00 |
(0.03) |
0.01 |
(0.07) |
Cash Flow from Operating
Activities before changes in non-cash working capital |
$m |
(1.36) |
4.21 |
(0.11) |
3.35 |
5.95 |
Financial
Position |
|
31-Dec-23 |
30-Sep-23 |
30-Jun-23 |
31-Mar-23 |
31-Dec-22 |
Cash
and Cash Equivalents |
$m |
5.03 |
4.32 |
2.90 |
7.41 |
6.72 |
Net Debt 1 |
$m |
30.75 |
32.93 |
33.43 |
23.34 |
23.31 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: The sum of the quarters in the table above may not equal
the full-year amounts disclosed elsewhere due to rounding.
1 Net Debt is a non-GAAP measure. This term is
not a standardized financial measure under IFRS and might not be
comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other
issuers. See Non-GAAP Performance Measures below for additional
information.
For further details the reader is directed to
the Company’s year ended December 31, 2023 Financial Statements and
Management Discussion and Analysis available on sedarplus.ca
OPERATIONS REVIEW
Mining efforts in 2023 focused on the Mahler,
New Fold, and Mud Pond zones. Deepening of the lower Mahler ramp
system provided access to high-grade ore in the Lower Mahler mining
zone that supported strong grades and record metal production. It
is expected that ore from this zone will continue to support
budgeted zinc grades for FY2024. Mining is expected to continue in
the same zones in 2024.
Major projects completed include the
counter-weight rail replacement for the service cage and purchase
of a telehandler for underground material movement.
EXPLORATION UPDATE
Underground:
Drill programs in 2023 targeted Lower Mahler,
N2D, New Fold, and Fowler. Underground drilling totaled 58
drillholes and 29,937 ft. Of these, eight were completed in the
fourth quarter of 2023, totaling 5,884 ft. Drilling has continued
to target New Fold and Lower Mahler in the first quarter of 2024.
All underground drilling was completed with Company-owned
underground drills by Company employees. Of the total drilling,
five holes were completed targeting the down dip extensions of
Lower Mahler, and the area between Lower Mahler and New Fold. A
total of 7,984 ft was drilled, with mineralization intercepted 600
ft down dip from the current active faces of Lower Mahler.
Surface:
Surface drilling in 2023 focused on the
exploration and further delineation of the Turnpike project
(formerly identified as Sphaleros). A total of 25 holes totaling
10,717 ft were drilled in the first and second quarters of
2023.
Two holes were drilled testing the 24 Crescent
target, a district target within close proximity to existing Empire
State Mine infrastructure. Drilling totaled 2,023 ft.
Kilbourne:
Titan has begun work on further defining the
Kilbourne graphite trend, a graphite exploration target hosted
within the same stratigraphic sequence as ESM’s zinc
mineralization. The host unit is Unit 2 of the lower marbles.
Mapping and drilling have documented 8.2 km of strike length, to a
depth of 1 km from surface. Approximately 2.5 km of this strike
length is within the affected area of the Empire State Mine and is
covered by current permitting. The remaining strike length is
securely within mineral rights held by ESM.
Exploration activities began in the third
quarter of 2023 with surface trenching and channel sampling
generating 99 samples. Based on that sampling a representative bulk
sample (X tons) was sent to RDI labs in Wheat Ridge Colorado for
metallurgical testing. Drilling began in the fourth quarter of 2023
and is projected to continue into the second quarter of 2024. To
date, nine holes totaling 2,718 ft have been completed.
Assays and Quality Assurance/Quality
Control
To ensure reliable sample results, the Company
has a rigorous QA/QC program in place that monitors the
chain-of-custody of samples and includes the insertion of blanks
and certified reference standards at statistically derived
intervals within each batch of samples. Core is photographed and
split in half with one-half retained in a secured facility for
verification purposes.
Sample preparation (crushing and pulverizing)
has been performed at ALS Geochemistry (“ALS”), an independent
ISO/IEC accredited lab located in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. ALS
prepares a pulp of all samples and sends the pulps to their
analytical laboratory in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, for analysis. ALS
analyzes the pulp sample by an aqua regia digestion (ME-ICP41 for
35 elements) with an ICP – AES finish including Cu (copper), Pb
(lead), and Zn (zinc). All samples in which Cu (copper), Pb (lead),
or Zn (zinc) are greater than 10,000 ppm are re-run using aqua
regia digestion (Cu-OG46; Pb-OG46; and Zn-OG46) with the elements
reported in percentage (%). Silver values are determined by an aqua
regia digestion with an ICP-AES finish (ME-ICP41) with all samples
with silver values greater than 100 ppm repeated using an aqua
regia digestion overlimit method (Ag-OG46) calibrated for higher
levels of silver contained. Gold values are determined by a 30 g
fire assay with an ICP-AES finish (Au-ICP21).
The Company has not identified any drilling,
sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect
the accuracy or reliability of the data set out in this news
release.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information
contained in this news release and the sampling, analytical and
test data underlying the scientific and technical information has
been reviewed, verified and approved by Donald R. Taylor, MSc., PG,
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, a qualified
person for the purposes of NI 43-101. Mr. Taylor has more than 25
years of mineral exploration and mining experience and is a
Registered Professional Geologist through the SME (registered
member #4029597). The data was verified using data validation and
quality assurance procedures under high industry standards.
Non-GAAP Performance
Measures
This document includes non-GAAP performance
measures, discussed below, that do not have a standardized meaning
prescribed by IFRS. The performance measures may not be comparable
to similar measures reported by other issuers. The Company believes
that these performance measures are commonly used by certain
investors, in conjunction with conventional GAAP measures, to
enhance their understanding of the Company's performance. The
Company uses these performance measures extensively in internal
decision-making processes, including to assess how well the Empire
State Mine is performing and to assist in the assessment of the
overall efficiency and effectiveness of the mine site management
team. The tables below provide a reconciliation of these non-GAAP
measures to the most directly comparable IFRS measures as contained
within the Company's issued financial statements.
Net Debt
Net debt is calculated as the sum of the current
and non-current portions of long-term debt, net of the cash and
cash equivalent balance as at the balance sheet date. A
reconciliation of net debt is provided below.
|
|
|
December 31 |
|
|
December 31 |
|
|
|
2023 |
|
|
2022 |
|
Current portion of debt |
$ |
35,779 |
|
$ |
176 |
|
Non-current portion of debt |
|
- |
|
|
29,856 |
|
Total debt |
$ |
35,779 |
|
$ |
30,032 |
|
Less: Cash and cash equivalents |
|
(5,031 |
) |
|
(6,720 |
) |
Net debt |
$ |
30,748 |
|
$ |
23,312 |
|
About Titan Mining
Corporation
Titan is an Augusta Group company which produces
zinc concentrate at its 100%-owned Empire State Mine located in New
York state. Titan is built for growth, focused on value and
committed to excellence. For more information on the Company,
please visit our website at www.titanminingcorp.com
Contact
For further information, please contact: Investor
Relations: Email: info@titanminingcorp.com
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements and information contained in
this new release constitute "forward-looking statements", and
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These
statements appear in a number of places in this news release and
include statements regarding our intent, or the beliefs or current
expectations of our officers and directors, including future
results of operations; future exploration plans; future safety
results; that it is expected that ore from the Lower Mahler zone
will continue to support budgeted zinc grades for FY2024; as we
enter 2024 our plans are to continue the upward trajectory on
production while improving our safety performance; mining is
expected to continue in the same zones in 2024; drilling began in
the fourth quarter of 2023 and is projected to continue into the
second quarter of 2024. When used in this news release words such
as “to be”, "will", "planned", "expected", "potential", and similar
expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking
statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are
reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking
statements since the Company can give no assurance that such
expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause actual results or events to vary materially from those
anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the
risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the Company's
periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such
forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions,
including assumptions made with regard to the ability to advance
exploration efforts at ESM; the results of such exploration
efforts; the ability to secure adequate financing (as needed); the
Company maintaining its current strategy and objectives; and the
Company’s ability to achieve its growth objectives. While the
Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, based on
information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect.
Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to
update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any
forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect actual
results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or
changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements.
If we update any one or more forward-looking statements, no
inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with
respect to those or other forward-looking statements. You should
not place undue importance on forward-looking statements and should
not rely upon these statements as of any other date. All
forward-looking statements contained in this news release are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement.
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