Copper Mountain Announces 2017 Year End Results
| This release should be read with the audited financial statements and management's discussion and analysis available at www.cumtn.com and filed on www.sedar.com. Our financial results are prepared in accordance with IFRS and expressed in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted. Sales and production volumes for the Company's 75%-owned Copper Mountain mine are presented on a 100% basis unless otherwise indicated. |
VANCOUVER, Feb. 20, 2018 /CNW/ - Copper Mountain Mining Corp. (TSX: CMMC) (the "Company" or "Copper Mountain") announces 2017 year end revenues of $304 million, after pricing adjustments and treatment charges, from the sale of 73.9 million pounds of copper, 23,800 ounces of gold, and 264,800 ounces of silver. Total cash cost for the year was US$1.81 per pound of copper sold, net of precious metals credits.
| 2017 Highlights (100% CAD$ Basis) |
|
Jim O'Rourke, President and CEO of Copper Mountain, remarked "During 2017, Copper Mountain continued to demonstrate efficiency in production and mine operations. The installment of the SAG mill bull gear in April 2017 was a major maintenance project that was completed ahead of schedule. The mine had $102.8 million in cash flow from operations and generated $67 million in earnings. The mine has continued to focus on cost controls and production efficiencies."
Mr. O'Rourke continued, "At the end of 2017 the Company's cash position increased to $45 million and we are looking forward to the strong copper markets of 2018 to further strengthen the Company's balance sheet."
Summary Financial Results
| Three months ended December 31, | Year ended December 31, | |||
| (In Thousands of CDN$, other than per share and per pound amounts) | 2017 $ | 2016 $ | 2017 $ | 2016 $ |
| Revenues | 85,687 | 84,523 | 304,080 | 277,996 |
| Gross profit (loss) | 20,013 | 15,836 | 59,095 | 19,666 |
| Cash flow from operations (before w/c changes) | 31,597 | 28,128 | 102,796 | 68,892 |
| Operating income | 17,873 | 14,164 | 50,151 | 12,924 |
| Adjusted earnings (loss)1 | 20,374 | 7,090 | 35,786 | (11,717) |
| Net Income | 23,538 | 2,881 | 67,339 | 11,597 |
| Earnings attributable to shareholders of the Company | 16,479 | 2,098 | 47,963 | 7,723 |
| Earnings per share2 | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.36 | 0.06 |
| Adjusted earnings (loss) per share3 | 0.15 | 0.06 | 0.27 | (0.09) |
| EBITDA | 31,566 | 20,760 | 122,504 | 79,082 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 28,402 | 24,969 | 90,951 | 55,768 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 45,133 | 31,409 | ||
| Working capital | 6,893 | (791) | ||
| Equity | 265,285 | 195,533 | ||
| Copper produced (lbs) | 19,500 | 20,800 | 75,800 | 82,900 |
| Gold produced (oz) | 5,200 | 7,100 | 23,600 | 30,800 |
| Silver produced (oz) | 70,400 | 71,100 | 277,000 | 291,900 |
| Copper sold (lbs) | 18,000 | 21,000 | 73,900 | 82,700 |
| Gold sold (oz) | 5,000 | 7,200 | 23,800 | 29,900 |
| Silver sold (oz) | 65,400 | 83,300 | 264,800 | 283,900 |
| Site cash costs per pound of copper produced (net of gold, silver credits) (US$) | $1.60 | $1.30 | $1.38 | $1.17 |
| Total cash costs per pound of copper sold (net of gold, silver credits) (US$) | $2.05 | $1.69 | $1.81 | $1.60 |
| _________________________ | |
| 1 | Adjusted earnings (loss) and adjusted earnings (loss) per share are non-GAAP financial measures which remove unrealized gains/losses on interest rate swaps and unrealized foreign currency gains/losses. |
| 2 | Calculated based on weighted average number of shares outstanding under the basic method based on earnings attributable to shareholders. |
| 3 | Calculated based on weighted average number of shares outstanding under the basic method based on adjusted earnings. |
Copper Mountain Mine
During 2017, the Company shipped and sold 73.9 million pounds of copper, 23,800 ounces of gold, and 264,800 ounces of silver which generated $304 million in revenue net of treatment and refining charges and pricing adjustments. Site cash costs were US$1.38 per pound of copper produced and total cash costs were US$1.81 per pound sold, net of precious metal compared to site cash costs of US$1.17 per pound of copper produced and total cash costs of US$1.60 per pound of copper sold, net of precious metal credits for 2016
Mining activities continued to be focused in the Pit #2, Saddle and Oriole areas for the fourth quarter of 2017 with a majority of ore coming from the Pit #2 area. Oriole accounted for about 8% of the ore processed during the period. During the year a total of 72.6 million tonnes of material was mined, including 26.2 million tonnes of ore and 46.4 million tonnes of waste for a strip ratio of 1.77:1. High equipment mechanical availability was maintained during the quarter which helped contribute to the above average mining rates of 198,900 tonnes per day moved, well above our 2017 mining guidance rate of 180,000 tonnes per day moved. Mining costs per tonne during the year was $1.69 per tonne moved.
During the year the mill processed a total of 14.1 million tonnes of ore grading 0.32% copper to produce 75.8 million pounds of copper, 23,600 ounces of gold, and 277,000 ounces of silver. Mill recoveries were 77.2% for the year while mill operating time was 90.3%. Mill throughput increased during the second half of the year as planned, after the replacement of the SAG bull gear. The mill achieved an average throughput rate of 38,600 tpd for the 2017 year.
During the year, the Company completed a total of thirteen shipments of copper concentrate containing approximately 73.9 million pounds of copper, 23,800 ounces of gold, and 264,800 ounces of silver which generated $304 million in revenue net of treatment and refining charges and pricing adjustments. Gold and silver revenues accounted for about 14% of gross revenues during the year.
The Company currently has 461 operating employees engaged at the mine site and continues to maintain an excellent safety record.
Listed below is a summarized balance sheet and income statement as well as details for our conference call schedule:
Summarized Balance Sheet
| December 31, 2017 $ | December 31, 2016 $ | |
| Assets | ||
| Cash | 45,133 | 31,409 |
| Accounts Receivable and prepaids | 29,314 | 26,048 |
| Inventory | 68,135 | 48,465 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 414,041 | 463,080 |
| Other Assets | 111,326 | 78,788 |
| 667,949 | 647,790 | |
| Liabilities | ||
| Current liabilities | 92,056 | 84,060 |
| Amounts payable to related parties | 43,633 | 22,653 |
| Electricity deferral | - | 15,385 |
| Provisions | 6,521 | 6,312 |
| Interest rate swap liability | 2,081 | 4,088 |
| Long-term debt | 258,373 | 319,759 |
| 402,664 | 452,257 | |
| Equity | ||
| Share capital | 195,670 | 194,208 |
| Contributed surplus | 15,724 | 14,773 |
| Deficit | (25,693) | (73,656) |
| Non-controlling interest | 79,584 | 60,208 |
| Total equity | 265,285 | 195,533 |
| 667,949 | 647,790 |
Summarized Income Statement
| Three months ended December 31, | Year ended December 31, | |||
| (CDN$) | 2017 $ | 2016 $ | 2017 $ | 2016 $ |
| Revenues | 85,687 | 84,523 | 304,080 | 277,996 |
| Cost of sales4 | (65,674) | (68,687) | (244,985) | (258,330) |
| Gross profit | 20,013 | 15,836 | 59,095 | 19,666 |
| Other income and expenses | ||||
| General and administration | (1,131) | (1,150) | (6,757) | (5,594) |
| Property investigation | - | (338) | (35) | (338) |
| Share based compensation | (1,030) | (184) | (2,152) | (810) |
| Operating income | 17,852 | 14,164 | 50,151 | 12,924 |
| Pricing adjustments on concentrate and metal sales | (4,404) | (3,134) | (10,691) | (11,041) |
| Finance income | (41) | 56 | 319 | 199 |
| Finance expense | (3,368) | (3,418) | (13,070) | (12,642) |
| Current resource tax expense | (621) | (578) | (1,879) | (1,157) |
| Deferred income and resource tax recovery | 10,956 | - | 10,956 | - |
| Adjusted earnings5 (loss) | 20,374 | 7,090 | 35,786 | (11,717) |
| Pricing adjustments on concentrate and metal sales | 4,404 | 3,134 | 10,691 | 11,041 |
| Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swap | 610 | 2,580 | (87) | (91) |
| Unrealized (loss) gain on foreign exchange | (1,871) | (9,923) | 20,949 | 13,007 |
| Loss on sale of fixed asset | - | - | - | (643) |
| Net income and comprehensive income for the period | 23,517 | 2,881 | 67,339 | 11,597 |
| Net income and comprehensive income attributable to: | ||||
| Shareholders of the company | 16,479 | 2,098 | 47,963 | 7,723 |
| Non-controlling interest | 7,059 | 783 | 19,376 | 3,874 |
| 23,538 | 2,881 | 67,339 | 11,597 | |
| Income per share | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.36 | 0.06 |
| Adjusted earnings (loss) per share | 0.15 | 0.06 | 0.27 | (0.09) |
| ________________________ | |
| 4 | Cost of sales consists of direct mining and milling costs (which include mine site employee compensation and benefits, mine site general and administrative costs, non-capitalized stripping costs, maintenance and repair costs, operating supplies and external services), depreciation and offsite transportation costs. |
| 5 | Adjusted earnings (loss) is a non-GAAP financial measure which excludes unrealized gains/losses on derivative instruments, changes in fair value of financial instruments, foreign currency gains/losses, pricing adjustments related to metal sales and non-recurring transactions. |
The full set of financial statements and accompanying MD&A are posted on Sedar.com.
Exploration Update: Mine Site
The Company began a summer 10,000m exploration drilling program at the Copper Mountain Mine. The 2017 program was targeting to further extend Pit 2 to the West and to follow up on the 2016 drilling that indicated a significant north-west extension of Pit 2. Drilling south west of Pit 2 continued to intercept mineralization, but was intermittent as drilling moved outside of the western extremities of the current pit limits, indicating that additional drilling may be required.
New Ingerbelle
During the year, the Company completed a review of historical data from the New Ingerbelle Pit and completed a 14- hole 5,000 metre diamond drill program. Historical drill data in the Ingerbelle deposit consisted of 582 drill-holes totalling 80,500m, approximately half of which are below the previously mined area. Drill hole locations were designed to intersect the historically defined mineralization in an evenly distributed pattern to the extent that topography, and water or backfilled areas allowed. The 35 significant drill intersections from the current program, were tabulated in the Company's February news release and had an average Cu Eq grade of 0.48% ( 0.34% Cu, 0.70g/t Ag and 0.22g/tAu).
The Ingerbelle resource, estimated from the historical data (inferred) that is within a whittle pit shell, generated using a US$2.75 copper price and current mine costs, contains 104Mt grading 0.42% Cu Eq. (0.30% Cu and 0.20g/t Au) based on a 0.2% copper cut-off grade. A revised resource estimate, using both historical and new drill data, will be completed during 2018. Additional drill programs and engineering studies will be designed to upgrade resources to reserve status and targeted to define sufficient reserves that could contribute an additional 10 years of production to Copper Mountain's life-of-mine plan.
About Copper Mountain Mining Corporation:
Copper Mountain's flagship asset is the Copper Mountain mine located in southern British Columbia near the town of Princeton. The Company has a strategic alliance with Mitsubishi Materials Corporation who owns 25% of the mine. The Copper Mountain mine has a large resource of copper that remains open laterally and at depth. This significant exploration potential is being explored over the next few years in order to fully appreciate the property's full development potential. Additional information is available on the Company's web page at www.CuMtn.com.
| A conference call and audio webcast will be held on Tuesday, February 20th, 2018 at 7:30 am (Pacific Daylight Time) for management to discuss the 2017 fourth quarter and year end 2017 financial results. This discussion will be followed by a question-and-answer period with investors. Live Dial-in information Toronto and international: 647-427-7450 North America (toll-free): 1-888-231-8191 To participate in the webcast live via your computer go to: http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1580534&s=1&k=716CEA9C0B2C3740086DE02F2C4CA5BF Replay call information Toronto and international: 416.849.0833, passcode 2098038 North America (toll-free): 1.855.859.2056, passcode 2098038 The conference call replay will be available from 10:30 am (PDT) on February 20th, 2018, until 20:59 pm PDT on March 6th, 2018. Participant audio webcast will also be available on the Company's website at http://www.CuMtn.com |
On behalf of the Board of
COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING CORPORATION
"Rod Shier"
Rodney A. Shier, CPA, CA
Chief Financial Officer
Note: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents, filed by the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, specifically the most recent reports which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statement.
SOURCE Copper Mountain Mining Corp.
Contact
Dan Gibbons, Investor Relations, 604-682-2992 ext. 238, Email: Dan@cumtn.com; Rod Shier, Chief Financial Officer, 604-682-2992 ext.222, Email: Rod@CuMtn.com; Website: www.CuMtn.com