Gold miner Yamana Gold has had one of its “more important and exciting” quarters in the three months ended June, which president and CEO Daniel Racine said on Thursday should allow it to pursue growth opportunities at its mines in Brazil and Argentina.
The gold miner significantly bolstered its net free cash flow to $122.9-million in the June quarter, from $48-million a year earlier. It also improved its balance sheet by using the proceeds from the sale of the Chapada mine, in Brazil, to retire outstanding debt.
The balance sheet, at June 30, included cash and cash equivalents of $90.2-million and available credit of $615-million, for total liquidity of $705.2-million. Subsequent to quarter-end, Yamana used $385-million from the Chapada sale to eliminate the revolving credit facility, resulting in cash and cash equivalents increasing to $505.2-million and available credit increasing to $1-billion.
The two “value-creating opportunities” that Yamana lists in its second-quarter results announcement are the phased expansion of the Jacobina mine, in Brazil, and the Agua Rica project, in Argentina.
At Jacobina, Yamana is planning to increase production to at least 200 000 oz/y and up to 225 000 oz/y by 2023. The miner recently hiked the 2019 guidance for the mine to 152 000 oz, as part of the Phase 1 expansion of the mine. This phase of the expansion will increase gold production to about 170 000 oz/y by 2021.
At Agua Rica, which Yamana has announced will be integrated into an existing joint venture with Glencore and Newmont Goldcorp, development options are currently under consideration. The company last week announced details of a prefeasibility study for Agua Rica, which is forecast to produce 53-million pounds a year of copper-equivalent production in the first ten years.
Yamana produced 232 863 oz of gold in the June quarter, up from 224 083 oz a year earlier, at an all-in cash cost of $941/oz. Silver production increased to 1.33-million ounces, from 384 629 oz.
Revenue rose to $463.5-million, from $435.7-million. Net earnings improved to $14.1-million, from $12.4-million.