The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.
TIMMINS – Lake Shore Gold in Timmins reports that gold production in 2014 exceeded the yearly target by a significant amount.
The company said it had set a target range of 160,000 to 180,000 ounces of gold for 2014. As it turned out, 186,500 ounces of gold were poured in during 2014, the company said in a news release. Company president Tony Makuch said a similar production target is being set for 2015.
The company said its Bell Creek mill processed 1,245,900 tonnes of ore, at an average grade of 4.8 grams per tonne. The ore was from the LSG Timmins West mining complex and the Bell Creek Mine. Of the 186,500 ounces of gold poured last year, the company reported gold sales of 183,300 ounces at an average selling price of US$1,269 per ounce (CDN $1,398 per ounce).
Production in the fourth quarter of 2014 totalled 43,200 ounces, which resulted from processing 331,400 tonnes at an average grade of 4.2 grams per tonne. The company poured 42,400 ounces during that fourth quarter, while gold sales totalled 41,200 ounces at an average selling price of US$1,200 per ounce ($1,360 per ounce).
LSG has also reported significant improvement in debt repayments as the company strives to improve its financial position, said the release. On Dec. 31, 2014, it repaid the remaining $20 million owing on a standby line of credit, bringing total debt repayments in 2014 to approximately $45 million, exceeding the company’s debt reduction target for the year of $20 to $25 million, according to the news release.
Further to that, once the repayment was done, LSG also reported cash and bullion at the end of 2014 totalled approximately $60 million, which compared to cash and bullion of $34 million when the year began.
On Dec. 3, 2014, the company completed a $15.1 million flow-through financing. The proceeds from this financing will be used to fund exploration expenditures during 2015 at the 144 Gap Zone relating to surface and underground drilling, as well as drifting into the Zone from mine infrastructure at Thunder Creek, said the company.
Company president Makuch said there is good reason to be optimistic for Lake Shore in the coming year.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.timminspress.com/2015/01/12/lake-shore-exceeds-its-gold-production-targets