Yellowhead Mining Inc. - 2015 Year End Report

VANCOUVER, Jan. 28, 2016 /CNW/ - Yellowhead Mining Inc. ("Yellowhead" or the "Company") (TSX: YMI) reports its results of operations for the financial year ended December 31, 2015.

For the full audited consolidated financial statements and management discussion & analysis for the financial year ended December 31, 2015, please see SEDAR at www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.yellowheadmining.com.

Highlights

Highlights for the financial year ended December 31, 2015 include:

• Acceptance of an application ("EA Application") for an environmental assessment certificate for the Harper Creek Project ("Harper Creek") by the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office ("BC EAO") for formal review, with the 180 day application review period commencing on January 28, 2015
• Responding to comments from the BC EAO and the Canadian environmental assessment agency (CEA Agency), together with members of the Working Group, on the EA Application
• Suspension of the 180 day EA Application review period timeline in order to provide sufficient time for the Company to provide the additional information requested by the BC EAO relating to the conclusions and recommendations of the Independent Expert Report on the Mount Polley Tailing Storage Facility Breach for its relevance and applicability to Harper Creek
• Successful completion of a rights offering, pursuant to which the Company issued a total of 24,751,431 common shares at a price of $0.045 per share for gross proceeds of $1,113,814
• Cessation of all activities with respect to the EA Application and environmental monitoring, and placing the project on care and maintenance for the foreseeable future, including for 2016, as a result of the Board of Directors concluding that, in light of current conditions in the commodity markets and the international capital markets, it was in the best interest of all shareholders to defer all expenditures on Harper Creek until such time as more favorable commodity and capital markets presented themselves

Outlook for 2016

The Company intends to keep Harper Creek on care and maintenance for the foreseeable future, including during 2016, until such time as more favorable commodity and capital markets exist that would permit the development of Harper Creek to continue.

Summary of Financial Results
(Amounts are expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars, except per-share amounts)

Yellowhead has no revenue from operations.  Results can fluctuate significantly from period to period due to the level of project development on Harper Creek.

Review of Quarterly Results

The loss in Q4 2015 was $614K compared to $1.76M in Q4 2014.  This decrease in loss of $1.15M was due to a decrease in exploration and evaluation expenses of $1.13M.  Exploration and evaluation expenses were lower in Q4 2015 as the Company ceased all activities with respect to the EA Application and environmental monitoring on October 1, 2015. Environmental assessment costs decreased from $1.09M in Q4 2014 to $187 in Q4 2015. Administration expenses were $596K in Q4 2015 compared to $633K in Q4 2014. Administration costs were lower in Q4 2015 compared to Q4 2014 as Q4 2014 included consulting fees incurred in connection with ongoing negotiations with the First Nations and these fees were not incurred in Q4 2015.  These lower consulting fees in Q4 2015 were partially offset by higher wages and salaries as severance payments of $349K were incurred in Q4 2015 as staff levels were reduced. In Q4 2015 travel and investor relations costs were also lower than Q4 2014 as the Company continued to reduce expenditures to conserve cash.

Review of Annual Results

The loss in FY 2015 was $2.72M as compared to $7.14M in FY 2014.  This decrease in loss was primarily due to a decrease in exploration and evaluation expenses of $4.31M. The FY 2014 exploration and evaluation expenses related to the update of both the feasibility study and the EA Application for the Project while the FY 2015 costs primarily related to the EA Application.  Environmental assessment costs were lower in FY 2015 as compared to FY 2014 as the Company entered the review phase and reviewed and responded to comments from the EAO, CEA Agency, First Nations and the Public, and utilized fewer technical consultants than in the initial preparation of the EA Application.  In 2015 the Company also reduced expenditures on the EA Application in order to conserve cash and on October 1, 2015 ceased all activities with respect to the EA Application and environmental monitoring. FY 2015 administration costs were $1.92M compared $2.10M in FY 2014 as the Company continued to reduce expenditures in order to conserve cash.  Lower travel and investor relations costs, lower professional fees, lower office costs and lower consulting costs were offset by higher wages and benefits as the Company reduced staff in Q4 2015 and paid out severance of $349K.  Share based compensation costs were also lower as the Company did not grant any new stock options in 2014 or 2015.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $1.30M as at December 31, 2015, as compared to cash and cash equivalents of $3.68M as at December 31, 2014.  As at December 31, 2015, the Company had working capital of $1.12M, as compared to working capital of $2.69M as at December 31, 2014.

Outlook

The Company intends to keep Harper Creek on care and maintenance for the foreseeable future, including during 2016, until such time as more favorable commodity and capital markets exist that would permit the development of Harper Creek to continue.

About the Harper Creek Project

Harper Creek is a proposed 70,000 tonnes-per-day open pit copper mine with a 28 year mine life, located in the Thompson – Nicola region of British Columbia near Vavenby.  If developed, Harper Creek would provide up to 600 jobs during construction and up to 450 permanent jobs during operations.

About Yellowhead Mining Inc.

Yellowhead Mining Inc. is a development stage company with a 100% interest in Harper Creek, located in the North Thompson - Nicola region of British Columbia, Canada.

Forward Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is 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 statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, including, among others, the accuracy of mineral grades and related assumptions, inherent operating risks, planned expenditures, proposed exploration and development at the Harper Creek Project, operating and economic aspects of the Harper Creek Project, as well as those risk factors identified in the Company's Annual Information Form filed under the Company's SEDAR profile. Yellowhead undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect projected results is included in the documents filed from time to time with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities by Yellowhead.

SOURCE Yellowhead Mining Inc.