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Atico Mining Corporation
  May 29, 2014
Atico Reports Consolidated Financial Results for the First Quarter of 2014

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


Vancouver, May 29th, 2014 - Atico Mining Corporation (the "Company" or "Atico") (TSX.V: ATY | OTC: ATCMF) today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2014, posting income from mining operations of $539,870 and a net loss of $779,972, due to 2,516 tonnes of non-invoiced dry concentrate remaining in inventory at quarter end. Production for the quarter at Atico's El Roble mine totaled 1.4 million pounds of copper and 1,147 ounces of gold in concentrates at a cash cost(1) of $1.33 per equivalent payable pound of copper produced.

"During the first full quarter of operating the El Roble mine, copper and gold production exceeded our expectations as the operations team materially increased production from previous quarters," said Fernando E. Ganoza, CEO. "We are looking forward to a strong second quarter which will include revenue from our first full-size concentrate shipment."

First Quarter Financial Highlights
  • The Company produced 2,735 tonnes of dry concentrate during the quarter with a metal content of 1.398 million pounds of copper and 1,147 ounces of gold.
  • Revenues of $2.04 million generated during the quarter from the shipping and provisional invoicing of 946.7 tonnes of dry concentrate containing 465,941 pounds of payable copper and 694 ounces of payable gold respectively.
  • At quarter end 2,515.7 tonnes of non-invoiced dry concentrate remained at the company's warehouses.
  • Income from mining operations of $539,870 for the quarter.
  • Net loss of $779,972 for the quarter primarily due to the sale and shipping of only a limited quantity of metals concentrate.
  • Average production costs(1) (before depreciation and amortization) for the quarter were $114.2 per tonne of processed ore.
  • Cash cost(1) per equivalent payable pound of copper produced was $1.33.
First Quarter Operations Review

El Roble performed better than planned in the first quarter of 2014 with an increase in copper and gold production. The performance was driven by a combination of higher than budgeted throughput, head grade and metallurgical recovery.

Cash cost(1) per tonne of processed ore was $114.2 and in line with company expectations. Cash cost(1) per payable pound of copper equivalent was $1.33. The company believes there is opportunity to improve the cash cost as the throughput increases in the subsequent quarters.

First Quarter Operational Details
 
  Q1 Total
Production (Contained in Concentrates)*  
Copper (000s pounds) 1,398
Gold (ounces) 1,147
Silver (ounces) 3,461
Mine  
Tonnes of ore mined 26,791
Mill  
Tonnes processed 23,016
Tonnes processed per day  354.1
Copper grade (%) 3.01
Gold grade (g/t) 2.43
Silver grade (g/t) 10.65
Recoveries  
Copper (%) 91.53
Gold (%) 63.73
Silver (%) 43.91
Concentrates  
Copper Concentrates (dmt)              2,735
Copper (%) 23.19
Gold (g/t) 13.05
  Silver (g/t) 39.36
   
Payable copper produced (000s lbs)       1,332
Cash cost per pound of payable copper(1) ($/lbs) 1.33

*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


El Roble Mine

El Roble is an operating underground copper and gold mine with a nominal mineral processing capacity of 400 tonnes per day. Over the past 22 years, the mine has processed 1.5 million tonnes of ore at an average head grade of 2.5% copper and an estimated 2.5 g/t gold. Copper and gold mineralization occurs within volcanogenic massive sulfide ("VMS") lenses.

Since entering into an 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, previously 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, 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 months ended March 31, 2014 as filed on SEDAR and as available on the Company's website for further details.




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

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