Iberian Minerals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:IZN) today announced financial and operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2011, with comparative figures for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2010. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes, and Management Discussion and Analysis may be found on www.sedar.com. Unless stated otherwise, all reported figures are in U.S. dollars. The Company reported net income of $123.6 million for Q3 2011, representing $0.27 per share.


Financial Highlights:                                                       
                                                                            
Three months ended September 30, 2011                                       
                                                                            
  -  Recorded net income of $123.59 million or $0.27 per registered share   
     which included:                                                        
                                                                            
     -  Sales of $60.11 million and gross loss of $24.09 million;           
                                                                            
     -  A realized loss of $52.42 million on commodity hedges (included in  
        sales) which caused the gross loss;                                 
                                                                            
     -  An unrealized non-cash gain of $164.22 million on derivative        
        financial instruments outstanding, partially as a result of         
        commodity hedging positions in copper and zinc that were delivered  
        into during the period and were thus retired and partially due to a 
        decline in metals prices impacting the fair value of outstanding    
        hedge positions.                                                    
                                                                            
  -  Cash flow provided by operations before changes in working capital     
     items was $1.49 million.                                               
                                                                            
Nine months ended September 30, 2011                                        
                                                                            
     Recorded net income of $201.55 million or $0.51 per registered share   
  -  which included:                                                        
                                                                            
     -  Sales of $183.48 million and gross loss of $54.02 million;          
                                                                            
     -  A realized loss of $171.03 million on commodity hedges (included in 
        sales) which caused the gross loss;                                 
                                                                            
     -  An unrealized non-cash gain of $292.66 million on derivative        
        financial instruments outstanding, partially as a result of         
        commodity hedging positions in copper and zinc that were delivered  
        into during the period and were thus retired and partially due to a 
        decline in metals prices impacting the fair value of outstanding    
        hedge positions.                                                    
                                                                            
  -  Cash flow provided by operations before changes in working capital     
     items was $22.28 million.                                              
                                                                            
  -  In June 2011 the Company completed a CA$76 million equity financing    
     which allowed for the buy-out of Trafigura's 45.96% net-profit interest
     ("NPI") in Condestable (for 2011 to 2014) for $60 million. The buy-out 
     of the NPI was completed on June 30, 2011.                             
                                                                            
Operational Highlights - CMC:                                               
                                                                            
Three months ended September 30, 2011                                       
                                                                            
  -  Condestable Mine processed copper ore at expected rates. The average   
     copper ore grade was 1.05% in 2011 versus 1.21% in 2010.               
                                                                            
  -  CMC processed 597,139 tonnes of ore in 2011 versus 564,541 tonnes of   
     ore in 2010 (increase of 6%).                                          
                                                                            
  -  Copper concentrate production in 2011 was 24,551 DMT versus 24,544 DMT 
     in 2010 (no change versus prior year).                                 
                                                                            
  -  Contained copper production in 2011 was 5,688 FMT versus 6,088 FMT in  
     the prior year (decrease of 6%).                                       
                                                                            
  -  The Cash Operating Cost in 2011 was $1.19 per payable pound of copper  
     produced versus prior year of $0.99.                                   
                                                                            
Nine months ended September 30, 2011                                        
                                                                            
  -  Condestable Mine processed copper ore at expected rates. The average   
     copper ore grade was 1.09% in 2011 versus 1.16% in 2010.               
                                                                            
  -  CMC processed 1,769,167 tonnes of ore in 2011 versus 1,666,932 tonnes  
     of ore in 2010 (increase of 6%).                                       
                                                                            
  -  Copper concentrate production in 2011 was 72,428 DMT versus 68,840 DMT 
     in 2010 (increase of 5%).                                              
                                                                            
  -  Contained copper production in 2011 was 17,387 FMT versus 17,252 FMT in
     the prior year (increase of 1%).                                       
                                                                            
  -  The Cash Operating Cost in 2011 was $1.12 per payable pound of copper  
     produced versus prior year of $1.02. For the current year this is below
     the 2011 guidance of $1.15 per payable pound of copper.                
                                                                            
                                                                            
     Other                                                                  
                                                                            
  -  In May 2011 CMC completed an amendment to its senior debt facility and 
     increased the principal to $60 million and extended the term by six    
     months (to September 2013).                                            
                                                                            
  -  Major project works were completed on the previously announced 10%     
     processing plant expansion. The processing plant reached 6,600 tpd of  
     ore processed in June 2011.                                            
                                                                            
Operational Highlights - MATSA:                                             
                                                                            
Three months ended September 30, 2011                                       
                                                                            
  -  MATSA processed 518,682 tonnes of ores in 2011 versus 460,999 tonnes of
     ores in 2010 (increase of 12%).                                        
                                                                            
  -  Produced 28,707 DMT of copper concentrate (2010 - 26,754 DMT), 18,260  
     DMT of zinc concentrate (2010 - 5,968 DMT) and 7,280 DMT of lead       
     concentrate (2010 - nil). Contained metal production was 6,638 FMT of  
     copper (2010 - 5,767 FMT), 8,632 FMT of zinc (2010 - 2,834 FMT), 1,217 
     FMT of lead (2010 - nil) and 235,549 ounces of silver (2010 - 181,978  
     ounces).                                                               
                                                                            
  -  The Cash Operating Cost was $1.56 per payable pound of copper produced 
     (2010 - $2.06 per payable pound of copper produced). For the current   
     year this is below the 2011 guidance of $1.75 per payable pound of     
     copper produced.                                                       
                                                                            
Nine months ended September 30, 2011                                        
                                                                            
  -  MATSA processed 1,499,209 tonnes of ores in 2011 versus 1,200,355      
     tonnes of ores in 2010 (increase of 25%). The copper ore head grade was
     2.20% (2010 - 1.83%)                                                   
                                                                            
  -  Produced 84,064 DMT of copper concentrate (2010 - 66,817 DMT), 50,893  
     DMT of zinc concentrate (2010 - 21,645 DMT) and 23,525 DMT of lead     
     concentrate (2010 - nil). Contained metal production was 18,916 FMT of 
     copper (2010 - 15,399 FMT), 24,390 FMT of zinc (2010 - 10,400 FMT),    
     4,216 FMT of lead (2010 - nil) and 725,101 ounces of silver (2010 -    
     516,488 ounces).                                                       
                                                                            
  -  The Cash Operating Cost was $1.67 per payable pound of copper produced 
     (2010 - $2.24 per payable pound of copper produced). For the current   
     year this is below the 2011 guidance of $1.75 per payable pound of     
     copper produced.                                                       
                                                                            
     Other                                                                  
                                                                            
  -  In May 2011 MATSA was awarded the exploration concessions by the local 
     authorities for the Sotiel property. The Sotiel mine, which forms part 
     of the concessions, was a past producing mine and is located           
     approximately 30 km from the Aguas Tenidas operation.                  
                                                                            
Outlook:                                                                    
                                                                            
                                                                            
Operations                                                                  
                                                                            
The Company updates previously issued production guidance for 2011.         
                                                                            
  -  At Condestable, due to a decreased copper ore grade in recent months,  
     it is expected that produced metal will be as follows: 22,500 FMT      
     copper, 13,000 Foz gold and 289,300 Foz silver. The Cash Operating Cost
     per pound of payable copper produced is expected to be $1.15.          
                                                                            
  -  The production guidance for Aguas Tenidas remains as follows: 25,000   
     FMT copper, 33,900 FMT zinc, 3,700 FMT lead and 730,000 Foz silver. The
     Cash Operating Cost per pound of payable copper produced is expected to
     be $1.75.                                                              
                                                                            
  -  The labour contract negotiations on-going at MATSA are progressing in a
     positive fashion. The most recent contract expired on December 31,     
     2010. The Company remains hopeful that a new collective labour         
     agreement will be reached in the coming weeks.                         

Development

The Company continues activities relating to the study of a possible rehabilitation and re-start of the Sotiel Mine together with a related expansion study for the operations at Aguas Tenidas. A budget for this work program of approximately $20 million was approved by the Board of Directors in June 2011 and is expected to be spent over the remainder of 2011 and early 2012. The Company could make a construction decision by the end of 2011.

Summarized Financial Results

The following table presents a summarized Statement of Operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 with comparatives for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010.


                                   Three months ended     Nine months ended 
                                        September 30,         September 30, 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(thousands of U.S. Dollars)           2011       2010       2011       2010 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         $          $          $          $ 
Sales                               60,110     57,482    183,482    164,976 
Costs and expenses of mining                                                
 operations                         84,196     71,966    237,499    223,574 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
Gross loss                         (24,086)   (14,484)   (54,017)   (58,598)
                                                                            
Expenses                                                                    
Administrative expenses and                                                 
 other                               1,876      1,066      4,947      3,281 
Exploration and evaluation                                                  
 expenditures                        4,816          -      4,816          - 
Foreign exchange gain               (4,770)      (177)    (1,607)    (6,394)
Contingent consideration fair                                               
 value                                   -      9,442          -      5,233 
Unrealized (gain) loss on                                                   
 derivative instruments           (164,216)    97,862   (292,656)   (21,093)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total expenses (other income)     (162,294)   108,193   (284,500)   (18,973)
                                                                            
Operating income (loss)            138,208   (122,677)   230,483    (39,625)
                                                                            
Net finance (income) costs          (4,490)     5,897      3,783      4,786 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Income (loss) before taxation      142,698   (128,574)   226,700    (44,411)
                                                                            
Current income tax expense                                                  
 (recovery)                           (931)     2,933        150      5,611 
Future income tax expense                                                   
 (recovery)                         20,042    (29,112)    25,003      3,796 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net income (loss)                  123,587   (102,395)   201,547    (53,818)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
Basic earnings (loss) per share                                             
 ($)                                  0.27      (0.30)      0.51      (0.16)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diluted earnings per share ($)        0.26      (0.30)      0.48      (0.16)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
                                                                            
Key operating statistics                                                    
                                                                            
CMC:                                                                        
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Three months             Nine months      
Periods ended                                                               
 September 30,          Unit       2011       2010         2011         2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
Ore mined                  t    608,008    550,346    1,787,493    1,654,379
Ore processed              t    597,139    564,541    1,769,167    1,666,932
                                                                            
Copper ore grade           %       1.05       1.21         1.09         1.16
Concentrate grade          %         23         25           24           25
Copper recovery rate       %         91         90           90           89
                                                                            
Copper concentrate       DMT     24,551     24,544       72,428       68,840
                                                                            
Copper contained in                                                         
 concentrate             FMT      5,688      6,088       17,387       17,252
Gold contained in                                                           
 concentrate              oz      3,543      3,382       10,574       10,660
Silver contained in                                                         
 concentrate              oz     79,404     76,216      240,667      207,925
                                                                            
Payable copper                                                              
 contained in                                                               
 concentrate             FMT      5,424      5,823       16,588       16,491
Payable gold                                                                
 contained in                                                               
 concentrate              oz      3,207      3,065        9,574        9,334
Payable silver                                                              
 contained in                                                               
 concentrate              oz     71,213     68,363      215,625      191,329
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
Cash Operating Cost                                                         
 per lb of payable                                                          
 copper                  USD $     1.19 $     0.99 $       1.12 $       1.02
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
                                                                            
MATSA:                                                                      
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Three months       Nine months   
Periods ended September 30,        Unit      2011     2010     2011     2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
Copper ore                                                                  
                                                                            
Ore mined                             t   257,205  348,691  878,166  927,636
Ore processed                         t   274,240  362,290  867,343  920,555
                                                                            
Copper ore grade                      %      2.20     1.82     2.20     1.83
Concentrate grade                     %        23       22       22       22
Copper recovery rate                  %        86       82       86       83
                                                                            
Copper concentrate                  DMT    22,601   24,908   72,859   62,633
                                                                            
Copper contained in concentrate     FMT     5,184    5,393   16,336   13,881
Silver contained in concentrate      oz    61,993   77,105  220,676  199,913
                                                                            
Payable copper contained in                                                 
 concentrate                        FMT     4,958    5,144   15,608   13,275
Payable silver contained in                                                 
 concentrate                         oz    40,193   53,411  163,966  139,830
                                                                            
Polymetallic ore                                                            
                                                                            
Ore mined                             t   230,785  104,843  645,342  281,397
Ore processed                         t   244,442   98,709  631,866  279,800
                                                                            
Zinc ore grade                        %      5.39     4.91     5.71     6.19
Zinc concentrate grade                %        47       47       48       48
Zinc recovery rate                    %        66       61       68       61
                                                                            
Copper ore grade                      %      1.17     1.08     1.10     1.26
Copper concentrate grade              %        24       20       23       21
Copper recovery rate                  %        51       38       38       40
                                                                            
Lead ore grade                        %      1.55        -     1.69        -
Lead concentrate grade                %        18        -       18        -
Lead recovery rate                    %        33        -       39        -
                                                                            
Zinc concentrate                    DMT    18,260    5,968   50,893   21,645
Copper concentrate                  DMT     6,106    1,846   11,205    4,184
Copper/lead concentrate             DMT         -        -        -    6,071
Lead concentrate                    DMT     7,280        -   23,525        -
                                                                            
Zinc contained in concentrate       FMT     8,632    2,834   24,390   10,400
Copper contained in concentrate     FMT     1,454      374    2,580    1,518
Lead contained in concentrate       FMT     1,217        -    4,216        -
Silver contained in concentrate      oz   173,556  104,873  504,425  316,575
                                                                            
Payable zinc contained in                                                   
 concentrate                        FMT     7,171    2,357   20,321    8,427
Payable copper contained in                                                 
 concentrate                        FMT     1,393      355    2,468    1,415
Payable lead contained in                                                   
 concentrate                        FMT       999        -    3,510        -
Payable silver contained in                                                 
 concentrate                         oz    97,776   20,799  303,121  177,466
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash Operating Cost per lb of                                               
 payable copper                     USD      1.56     2.06     1.67     2.24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Iberian Minerals Corp.

Iberian Minerals Corp. is a Canadian listed global base metals company with interests in Spain and Peru. The Condestable Mine, located in Peru approximately 90 km south of Lima operates at 2.4 million tonnes per year producing copper, and associated silver and gold in a concentrate. The Aguas Tenidas Mine is in the Andalucia region of Spain approximately 110 km north-west of Seville and operates a 2.2 million tonnes per year underground mine and concentrator that produces copper, zinc and lead concentrates that also contain gold and silver.

Note 1 - The Cash Operating Cost per pound of payable copper is a non-IFRS performance measure. It includes cash operating costs, including treatment and refining charges ("TC/RC"), freight and distribution costs, and is net of by-product metal credits (zinc, gold and silver). The Cash Operating Cost per pound of payable copper indicator is consistent with the widely accepted industry standard established by Brook Hunt and is also known as the C1 cash cost.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward looking information may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the future financial or operating performances of the Corporation, its subsidiaries and their respective projects, the timing and amount of estimated future production, estimated costs of future production, capital, operating and exploration expenditures, the future price of copper, gold and zinc, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the costs and timing of future exploration, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of exploration, development and mining operations, environmental risks, reclamation and rehabilitation expenses, title disputes or claims, and limitations of insurance coverage. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Corporation and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include changes in market conditions and other risk factors discussed or referred to in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Corporation's annual information form dated March 30, 2011. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts: Iberian Minerals Corp. Laura Sandilands Investor Relations and Corporate Communications 416-815-8558

InZinc Mining (TSXV:IZN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024 Click Here for more InZinc Mining Charts.
InZinc Mining (TSXV:IZN)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024 Click Here for more InZinc Mining Charts.