Rusoro Reports Q3 2011 Financial Results and Termination of Gold Export Permits and Provides Update on the Nationalization
November 30 2011 - 7:00AM
Marketwired Canada
Rusoro Mining Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:RML) ("Rusoro" or "the Company") reports its
financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2011 ("Q3 2011"). The
Company's consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and
analysis ("MD&A") for Q3 2011 have been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
All amounts set out in this news release and the Company's interim unaudited
consolidated financial statements and MD&A are expressed in United States
dollars, unless otherwise stated.
The following is a synopsis of the Q3 2011 financial results. For detailed
information regarding Rusoro's Q3 2011 results, and results for the nine months
ended September 30, 2011, please refer to the unaudited consolidated financial
statements and related MD&A for Q3 2011, which can also be found on the
Company's website at www.rusoro.com.
The Company's highlights for Q3 2011 were:
-- On September 16, 2011, the Venezuelan government, through publication in
the Official Gazette of Venezuela, enacted a law-decree ("the Decree")
which reserves to the State of Venezuela exclusive rights for the
extraction of gold in Venezuela ("the Nationalization"). According to
the Decree, all Venezuelan mining assets, including those of the
Company, must be transferred to a new mixed-interest enterprise ("the
Mixed Enterprise"), of which private enterprises, such as the Company,
cannot own more than 45%. The Decree stipulates that the Company has 90
days from September 16, 2011 to negotiate the terms and conditions of
the forced migration of mining assets to the Mixed Enterprise, including
any compensation to the Company for assets transferred to the Mixed
Enterprise as a result of the Nationalization. With respect to the
amount of any compensation to be paid to the Company by the Venezuelan
government, the Decree states that it will be based upon the unamortized
book value of the assets to be transferred to the Mixed Enterprise. If
the Company is unable to agree upon the terms and conditions of the
forced migration within the designated time period, all titles and
rights to the Company's Venezuelan mining assets will revert to the
Venezuelan government, provided that no extension is granted on the
negotiation period. Under this scenario, the Company would have no
alternative but to seek fair compensation through continued negotiations
or through its rights under the bilateral investment treaty between
Canada and Venezuela. The mining assets and operations affected relate
to the Choco mine, the Isidora mine, and the Company's exploration,
evaluation and development properties, which are all located in
Venezuela.
-- Effective September 16, 2011, the Decree mandated that 100% of all gold
produced in Venezuela is required to be sold to the Central Bank of
Venezuela ("CBV"), effectively terminating the Company's ability to
export.
-- Average realized gold price per ounce sold of $1,662 (three months ended
September 30, 2010 ("Q3 2010"): $1,233) and cash cost per ounce sold of
$1,454 (Q3 2010: $979). The higher average realized gold price is a
result of a higher international spot price per ounce of gold in Q3
2011. The higher cash cost per ounce sold is mainly due to the lower
production and the increase in costs resulting from the Venezuelan
inflation rate.
-- Gold production of 22,275 ounces of finished gold (dore form) for the
three-month period ended September 30, 2011 (Q3 2010: 23,458 ounces) and
gold sold of 18,068 ounces (Q3 2010: 34,626 ounces).
-- During Q3 2011, the Company exported 8,897 ounces of finished gold at
the international spot price per ounce, less associated costs and
commissions.
-- On June 10, 2011, the Company did not perform the repayment of the
convertible loan for $30 million which remains outstanding as of the
date of this news release.
-- As at September 30, 2011, the Company owed 6,643 ounces of finished gold
to a third party as per a gold delivery contract. On September 20, 2011,
as a result of the Decree and the Nationalization, a letter was written
to the gold buyer indicating that management no longer expects to settle
the obligation with the delivery of finished gold as stated in the
agreement. Instead, the Company will settle the outstanding, undelivered
ounces of finished gold owing with cash payments. The settlement amount
is at the fair value determined using the current international spot
price of gold.
Results for Q3 2011
-- Revenue decreased to $30.0 million (18,068 ounces sold) in Q3 2011 from
$42.7 million (34,626 ounces sold) in Q3 2010 due to a lower amount of
ounces of gold sold which more than offset the increase in the realized
price of gold to $1,662 in Q3 2011 from $1,233 in Q3 2010. The reduction
in gold sales is attributable to lower production.
-- Revenue from exports is paramount to the Company. During Q3 2011, the
CBV continued to incur delays in granting export permits to the Company,
forcing the Company to sell gold to the CBV, proceeds of which are
collectible in Venezuelan currency, Bolivar Fuerte ("BsF"), at the
official exchange rate of BsF 4.30/$1.00. This resulted in the Company
not being able to maximize its export quota, which negatively impacted
mining operations through decreased ability to fund sustaining capital
expenditure, key consumables and services payable in US dollar. The US
dollar cash flow constrains generated by reduced exports in turn caused
lower production levels, in an iterative cycle.
-- Mining operating expenses and depreciation and depletion decreased to
$24.8 million and $3.0 million, respectively, in Q3 2011 from $34.2
million and $4.2 million in Q3 2010. This cost decrease is primarily due
to lower gold production. The decrease in tonnes mined and milled is the
result of cash flow constraints which have hindered payments to vendors
and in turn resulted in the reduction of products and services affecting
the achievement of production targets.
-- General and administrative expenses decreased to $1.7 million in Q3 2011
from $2.7 million in Q3 2010 significantly due cost reductions driven by
cash constraints.
-- Interest on the Company's convertible loan decreased to $0.8 million in
Q3 2011 from $1.5 million in Q3 2010 due to the partial retirement of
the convertible loan during 2010.
-- Gain on revaluation of derivative financial liabilities increased to
$0.02 million in Q3 2011 from a loss of $0.6 million in Q3 2010 due to
the issuance and subsequent revaluation of Canadian dollar (C$) warrants
at lower current market prices. The warrants were issued in June 2010 as
part of the convertible loan refinancing transaction.
-- Loss on revaluation of the gold delivery contract increased to $4.8
million in Q3 2011 from a loss of $nil in Q3 2010, due to the
reclassification of a gold delivery contract from deferred revenue to a
derivative financial liability, and its subsequent revaluation to its
fair value using the current international spot price of gold.
-- Foreign exchange gain was $1.6 million in Q3 2011 compared to a foreign
exchange gain of $10.2 million in Q3 2010, due to the elimination of the
implicit exchange rate for translation of transactions and balances and
the current use of a single official fixed rate.
-- Deferred tax recovery increased to $2.3 million in Q3 2011 from an
expense of $1.0 million in Q3 2010 due to the winding down through the
depreciation and depletion of fair value allocations which arose from
prior business acquisitions.
-- Net loss amounted to $1.7 million during Q3 2011 compared to net profit
of $6.4 million during Q3 2010.
Operating Performance
The following table summarizes key operating statistics for 100% of the Choco
Mine and 50% of the Isidora Mine:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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3 Months Ended 3 Months Ended
September 30, 2011 September 30, 2010
------------------------------------------------------
Choco Isidora Total Choco Isidora Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ore tonnes mined
('000 t) 340 7 347 409 5 414
Ore tonnes milled
('000 t) 394 11 405 559 6 565
Average grade (g/t) 1.54 9.80 1.76 1.24 14.37 1.38
Average recovery rate
(%) 94% 90% 93% 91% 90% 91%
Gold produced (ounces) 19,064 3,211 22,275 20,781 2,677 23,458
Gold sold (ounces) 14,779 3,289 18,068 26,549 8,077 34,626
Total mining operating
expenses $(000) $17,229 $ 7,563 $24,792 $23,575 $10,619 $34,194
-decommissioning and
restoration
provision accretion
$(000) $ (277) $ (211) $ (488) $ (164) $ (133) $ (297)
-impairment of
inventories $(000) $ 3,239 $(1,273) $ 1,966 - - -
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Total cash costs
$(000)(1) $20,191 $ 6,079 $26,270 $23,411 $10,486 $33,897
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total cash costs per
ounce sold $(2) $ 1,366 $ 1,848 $ 1,454 $ 882 $ 1,298 $ 979
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Average spot gold
price per ounce $ n/a n/a $ 1,700 n/a n/a $ 1,277
Average realized gold
price per ounce
sold $ $ 1,663 $ 1,661 $ 1,662 $ 1,238 $ 1,216 $ 1,233
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The following notes are applicable to the above tables:
(1) Total cash costs used in the calculation of cash costs per ounce is
calculated as mining operating expenses from the consolidated
statement of comprehensive income (loss) excluding accretion expense
related to the decommissioning and restoration provision and expense
for impairment of inventories.
(2) Cash costs per ounce sold is a non-IFRS measure. Total cash costs per
ounce sold is calculated by dividing the total cash costs by the gold
ounces sold during the period. Cash costs per ounce sold includes all
expenditures related to the mine such as mining, processing,
administration, royalties and production taxes but excludes
reclamation, capital and exploration expenditures, and impairments of
inventories.
Cautionary non-IFRS measures
Total cash costs per ounce sold is a non-IFRS measure. The Company believes
that, in addition to conventional measures, prepared in accordance with IFRS,
certain investors use the cash costs per ounce data to evaluate the Company's
performance and ability to generate cash flow. Accordingly, it is intended to
provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a
substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS as it
does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Data used in the
calculation of total cash costs per ounce may not conform to other similarly
titled measures provided by other precious metals companies.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Andre Agapov, President & CEO
Forward-looking statements: This document contains statements about expected or
anticipated future events and financial results that are forward-looking in
nature and as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as
general economic, market and business conditions, the regulatory process and
actions, technical issues, new legislation, competitive and general economic
factors and conditions, the uncertainties resulting from potential delays or
changes in plans, the occurrence of unexpected events, and the Company's
capability to execute and implement its future plans. Actual results may differ
materially from those projected by management. For such statements, we claim the
safe harbour for forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Legislation Reform Act of 1995.
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