VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed intermediate Canadian gold producer Torex Gold has reported a net loss of $25-million, or $0.31 a share, for the three months ended December, after the flagship El Limón Guajes mining complex (ELG) was forced to shutter following a road blockade.
In what can very well be termed an annus horribilis for the company, Torex reported a full-year 2017 net loss of $12.6-million, or $0.16 a share.
"We are happy to have 2017 behind us, with its ramp-up challenges and illegal blockade, now in the rear-view mirror," president and CEO Fred Stanford said in a statement on Thursday.
The company's adjusted loss, which excludes one-off items, came to $14.3-milllion, or $0.18 a share, which was significantly more than analyst forecasts calling for a loss of $0.01 a share.
Revenue in the fourth quarter fell 60% year-on-year to $40.8-million, but full-year revenues remained relatively flat at $314.9-million, compared with 312.5-million generated in 2016.
Torex reported that since the blockade was ended in January, by finding an alternative route to the mine, about half of the company's employees have been called back to work, with the remaining staff expected to be called back by the end of the month.
As of Sunday, the operation had poured about 25 000 oz of gold since operations restarted on January 16.
Torex reported total cash in the bank at the start of this week of $118-million, including $14-million set aside for reclamation obligations.
Torex added that it will provide full-year production guidance when it releases its first-quarter 2018 results, which will allow itself time to complete the post-blockade return of the workforce to the site, including contractors to finish the construction of the sulphidisation, acidification, recycle and thickening plant.