TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Alamos Gold has narrowed its net loss for the fourth quarter, reporting $3.37-million, or $0.03 a share, compared with the net loss of $5.3-million, or $0.04 a share, for the comparable 2013 period.
The company said on Thursday that the loss was mainly owing to a $2.7-million noncash charge related to available-for-sale securities, and a $2.7-million unrealised foreign exchange loss.
Wall Street analysts had on average expected the company to report an adjusted loss of $0.03 a share for the quarter.
Revenue for the period declined to $46.06-million, down from $53.83-million in the previous comparable period, with analysts expecting revenue of $46.06-million.
During the quarter, the company sold 38 400 oz of gold at an average realised price of $1 200/oz.
Alamos expected to produce between 150 000 oz and 170 000 oz of gold at cash operating costs of about $800/oz of gold sold, excluding royalties, an improvement from the company's 2014 total output of 140 500 oz of gold at total cash costs of $703/oz.
The company also expected higher output in 2015 relative to 2014, mainly reflecting a full year of high-grade mill output from the San Carlos underground deposit at its Mulatos mine, in Mexico.
The company ended the year with a cash balance and short-term investments of $358-million.
Alamos continued to wait for a ruling from the Turkish high court on its environmental-impact assessment (EIA) for the Kirazli project, in Turkey, which was early last year the subject of an injunction order by the Canakkale Administrative Court on the basis that it failed to assess the “cumulative impacts” of the project in conjunction with other potential mining projects in the region.
The company had submitted a cumulative-impact assessment, which was previously cited as the hold-up to approval. Alamos expected a decision on its EIA on Kirazli in the next two to three months.
Exploration efforts would this year focus on the La Yaqui, Cerro Pelon satellite deposits of the Mulatos mine and Quartz Mountain, in Oregon.