| ● | A total 262 meters of exploration underground development was completed along with 14 underground diamond drill holes (totaling 4,099 meters) at our Arista and Switchback vein systems. |
Financial
| ● | Cash from operating activities was $6.8 million. |
| ● | Working capital from continuing operations increased 5% to $32.5 million during the quarter. |
2021 Q1 Capital Updates
Mine Development: Underground mine development and construction during the quarter included ramps and accesses to different areas of the deposit. A total of 1,683 meters of underground development, at a cost of $1.1 million, was completed including access to new exploration diamond drilling platforms on level 17. For Q1 2021, this investment amounted to $1.1 million, where we plan to invest a total of $9.8 million in mine development during 2021.
Gold Regrind Project: Metallurgical testing, full scale design, and engineering of a tailings regrind circuit were completed, including procuring certain components and equipment for this project. The new circuit is expected to increase gold recovery by 6% to 10% by regrinding sulfide mill tailings followed by a leaching circuit to produce doré bars. Completion and commissioning are expected by the fourth quarter. Plans are to invest $1.9 million in the project.
Dry Stack Project: Significant construction progress was made on the filtration plant and dry stack tailings project which is on track for completion in the third quarter 2021. The dry stacked tailings will accelerate reclamation of certain areas of the open pit mine, provide efficient storage of tailings and reduce water consumption as approximately 80% of the process water will be available for reuse. As of March 31, 2021, $9.0 million has been invested in this project with another $4.5 million expected prior to completion.
2021 Q1 Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
The conference call will be recorded and posted to the Company’s website later in the day following the conclusion of the call. Following prepared remarks, Allen Palmiere, President and Chief Executive Officer and Kim Perry, Chief Financial Officer will host a live question and answer (Q&A) session. There are two ways to join the conference call.
To join the conference via webcast, please click on the following link:
https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2361/40794.
To join the call via telephone please use one of the following dial-in details:
Toll Free:888-506-0062
International:973-528-0011
Entry Code:117123
Please connect to the conference call at least 10 minutes prior to the start time using one of the connection options listed above.