Hochschild Mining PLC (LON:HOC) today released Production Report for the 3 months ended 31 March 2019
Ignacio Bustamante, Chief Executive Officer said:
“Hochschild has delivered a solid start to the year with a strong contribution from Inmaculada and increased first quarter output from Pallancata leaving us firmly on track to meet our stated production and cost targets for 2019.
We have also begun our ambitious 2019 brownfield exploration plan with campaigns already commenced at Inmaculada, San Jose and Pallancata. In addition, we have also secured the drilling permit for the exciting programme scheduled at Palca as well as achieving environmental approvals for campaigns at nearby Cochaloma and Pablo Sur.”
Operational highlights
§ Strong 1st quarter attributable production[1]
o 67,419 ounces of gold
o 4.4 million ounces of silver
o 121,367 gold equivalent ounces
o 9.8 million silver equivalent ounces
§ On track to deliver overall 2019 production target of 457,000 gold equivalent ounces (37.0 million silver equivalent ounces)
§ 2019 all-in sustaining costs on track to meet $960-$1,000 per gold equivalent ounce guidance ($11.8-12.3 per silver equivalent ounce)
Exploration highlights
§ Brownfield exploration programmes underway at all operations
§ Drilling permit recently obtained for exploration programme at Palca – now set to commence in Q2
§ Environmental permits obtained for programmes at Cochaloma and Pablo Sur with drilling set to commence in Q3
§ Greenfield programme: initial exploration work set to begin at three projects in Chile and the US
Strong financial position
§ Total cash of approximately $88 million as at 31 March 2019 ($80 million as at 31 December 2018)
§ Net debt of approximately $68 million as at 31 March 2019 ($77 million as at 31 December 2018)
§ Current Net Debt/LTM EBITDA of approximately 0.26x as at 31 March 2019
Overview
Hochschild delivered a strong start to 2019 with attributable production of 121,367 gold equivalent ounces or 9.8 million silver equivalent ounces. This was mostly due to another solid quarter from Inmaculada and a consistent period at San Jose and was achieved despite the absence of a meaningful contribution from the Arcata mine following the announcement in February 2019 that it was being placed on care and maintenance.
The Company reiterates that its all-in sustaining cost for 2019 is on track to be in line with the guidance of $960-$1,000 per gold equivalent ounce ($11.8-12.3 per silver equivalent ounce).
