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  May 26, 2015
Atico Reports Consolidated Financial Results for the First Quarter of 2015

 
(All amounts expressed in US dollars, unless otherwise stated)

Vancouver, May 26th, 2015 -- Atico Mining Corporation (the "Company" or "Atico") (TSX.V: ATY | OTC: ATCMF) today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2015, posting income from mining operations of $4,814,590 and net income of $2,414,704.

Fernando E. Ganoza, CEO, commented, "We are very pleased to report a strong financial quarter where we saw record revenue of $13.45 million and a net income of $2.41 million for the Company. For the remainder of 2015, we will continue to focus on optimizing the recently scaled-up El Roble operation." Mr. Ganoza continued, "We will also continue prioritizing the drill program at the mine which to date has delivered encouraging drill results at the lower part of the resource, extending mineralization along strike and at depth."

First Quarter Financial Highlights
  • Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2015 amounted to $2.41 million, compared with a loss of $0.78 million for the same period in 2014.
  • Sales for the period increased 560% to $13.45 million with copper accounting for 74.2% of the total, and gold and silver for 25.7% and 0.1% respectively. The average realized price per metal on provisional invoicing was $2.63 per pound of payable copper, $1,218.48 per ounce of gold and $16.80 per ounce of silver.
  • Cash costs (1) were $111 per tonne of processed ore and $1.16 per pound of payable copper produced, a 13% decrease over the same period last years cash cost per pound of payable copper.
  • Income from operations was $3.52 million while cash flow from operations, before changes in working capital was $5.32 million. Capital expenditures amounted to $2.10 million.


First Quarter Summary of Financial Results
 
  Q1 Total
2015
Q1 Total
2014
% Change
Revenue $13,452,803 $ 2,036,991 560%
Cost of sales 8,638,213 1,497,121 477%
Income from mining operations 4,814,590 539,870 792%
As a % of revenue 36% 27% 35%
Selling, general and administrative expenses 1,185,698 708,216 67%
Income (loss) from operations 3,521,528 (472,383) 845%
As a % of revenue 26% (23%) 213%
Income (loss) before income taxes 3,470,429 (712,986) 587%
Net income (loss) 2,414,704 (779,972) 410%
As a % of revenue 18% (38%) 147%
Operating cash flow before changes in non-cash operating working capital items (1) 5,324,612 126,423 4,112%


First Quarter Operations Review

In the first quarter, the Company produced 2 million pounds ("lbs") of copper, 2,291 ounces ("oz") of gold and 6,308 oz of silver. When compared to same period last year, production increased 43%, 100%, and 82% for copper, gold and silver, respectively. Cash costs for the period were $111.15 per tonne of processed ore, and $1.16 per pound of payable copper produced, a 13% decrease over the Q1-2014 cash cost (1) per pound of payable copper. Despite the lower throughput during Q1-2015, the cost on a per tonne basis was in line with average 2014 cost. The cost on a per pound of payable copper basis increased by 41% relative to the average 2014 cost affected by the lower copper and gold production.

First Quarter Operational Details
 
  Q1 Total
2015
Q1 Total
2014
% Change
Production (Contained in Concentrates)*      
Copper (000s pounds) 2,003 1,398 43%
Gold (ounces) 2,291 1,147 100%
Silver (ounces) 6,308 3,461 82%
Mine      
Tonnes of ore mined 32,664 26,791 22%
Mill      
Tonnes processed 33,558 23,016 46%
Tonnes processed per day 557 354 57%
Copper grade (%) 2.91 3.01 -3%
Gold grade (g/t) 3.14 2.43 29%
Silver grade (g/t) 11.33 10.65 6%
Recoveries      
Copper (%) 93.2 91.5 2%
Gold (%) 67.5 63.7 6%
Silver (%) 51.6 43.9 18%
Concentrates      
Copper Concentrates (dmt) 4,839 2,735 77%
Copper (%) 18.8 23.2 -19%
Gold (g/t) 14.7 13.1 12%
  Silver (g/t) 40.6 39.4 3%
       
Payable copper produced (000s lbs) 1,890 1,332 42%
Cash cost per pound of payable copper (1)(2) ($/lbs) 1.16 1.33 -13%
* Subject to adjustments due to final settlement

The financial statements and MD&A are available on SEDAR and have also been posted on the company's website at http://www.aticomining.com/s/FinancialStatements.asp


(1) These are alternative performance measures; please refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" at the end of this release.
(2) Net of by-product credits


El Roble Mine

The El Roble mine is an underground copper, gold and silver mine and processing plant located in the Department of Choco in Colombia. Its commercial product is a copper concentrate with gold and silver by-product credits.

With a nominal capacity of 400 tonnes per day, the mine has processed over the past twenty-two years, a total of over 1.5 million tonnes of ore at an average head grade of 2.6% copper and an estimated gold grade of 2.5 g/t. Copper and gold mineralization at the El Roble property occurs in volcanogenic massive sulfide ("VMS") lenses.

On November 22, 2013, the Company completed the exercise of a property purchase option, acquiring 90% of the shares of Minera El Roble S.A. ("MINER"), the owner of the El Roble mineral property and took control of the producing El Roble mine and 6,679 hectares of surrounding claims. The Company has completed in 2014 an expansion to a nominal capacity of 650 tonnes per day.

Since entering into the option agreement in January 2011 to acquire 90% of El Roble, Atico has aggressively explored the mine and surrounding claims. The Company has completed 11,740 meters of diamond drilling and identified numerous prospective targets for VMS deposits on the 6,679-hectare property. This exploration led to the discovery of high-grade copper and gold mineralization below the 2000 level, the lowest production level of the El Roble mine. Atico has developed a new adit access from the 1880 elevation to develop these new resources.

National Instrument 43-101 compliant inferred mineral resource are 1.58 million tonnes grading 4.45 % copper and 3.17 g/t gold, at a cut-off grade of 0.72 % copper equivalent. Mineralization is open at depth and along strike and the Company plans to further test the limits of the resource.

On the larger land package, the Company has identified a prospective stratigraphic contact between volcanic rocks and black and grey cherts that has been traced by Atico geologists for ten kilometers. This contact has been determined to be an important control on VMS mineralization on which Atico has identified 15 prospective target areas for VMS type mineralization occurrence, which is the focus of the surface drill program at El Roble.


Qualified Person

Mr. Thomas Kelly (SME Registered Member 1696580), Chief Operating Officer of the Company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 standards, is responsible for ensuring that the technical information contained in this news release is an accurate summary of the original reports and data provided to or developed by Atico.

About Atico Mining Corporation

Atico is a growth-oriented company, focused on exploring, developing and mining copper and gold projects in Latin America. The Company operates the El Roble mine and is pursuing additional acquisition opportunities. For more information, please visit www.aticomining.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD


Fernando E. Ganoza
CEO
Atico Mining Corporation

Trading symbols: TSX.V: ATY | OTC: ATCMF

Investor Relations
Igor Dutina
Tel: +1.604.633.9022


Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ''U.S. Securities Act''), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act) unless pursuant to an exemption therefrom. This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction.


Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This announcement includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation the use of net proceeds, are forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs; the need to obtain additional financing to maintain its interest in and/or explore and develop the Company's mineral projects; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones for the Company's mineral projects; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the prospectus of the Company dated March 2, 2012 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The items marked with a "(1)" are alternative performance measures and readers should refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2015 as filed on SEDAR and as available on the Company's website for further details.
 

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