Veris Gold Corp. Announces Unaudited Earnings and Operating Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2014; Provides Production Guidance for the Year 2014
Total mine production increased 12% from the 205,166 tons mined in first quarter of 2013 to 230,052 tons in first quarter of 2014, with contained gold ounces of 36,854, a 13% increase compared with 32,636 ounces mined in first quarter of 2013 primarily as a result of production from Starvation Canyon mine which commenced operations mid-2013. 27,597 ounces were sold in first quarter of 2014, a 7% decrease from the 29,776 ounces sold in first quarter of 2013 primarily resulting from the decreased production during the quarter. 26,434 payable ounces were produced in the first quarter of 2014, representing a 13% decrease from the 30,461 ounces produced in the three month period ending March 31, 2013 due to the impact of two shutdown periods during the quarter as described below. For first quarter of 2014 the company focused on producing solely from Jerritt Canyon mined ore and did not process any third party ore.
The company continued to make improvements to the operations and meet the compliance requirements of the State, but overall production was significantly down from the targeted 38,000 - 40,000 ounces per quarter with the Jerritt Canyon operations producing 26,434 payable ounces for the quarter. Funds from these gold sales were focused on keeping critical suppliers on site and funding daily operations. No payments were made during this time towards external creditors including the Senior Secured Gold Facility. Despite these operational setbacks the company believes it can sustain a production levels to meet current targeted production of between 160,000 to 170,000 ounces from its three existing underground mines (including Starvation Canyon mine) with potential increases coming from a fourth new underground mine, Saval 4, targeting initial production in the second quarter of 2014. The Saval 4 lies in close proximity to the SSX-Steer mine and will ultimately produce between 200-300 TPD of additional ore with comparable grades to the other mines.