Amerigo produces 15.99 M lb of copper in Q3 at Minera Valle Central, Chile
Amerigo Resources Ltd. [ARG-TSX; ARREF-OTCQX] reported production results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 from the 100%-owned Minera Valle Central (MVC) operation located near Rancagua, Chile. Dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars.
In Q3-2021, MVC produced 16 million pounds of copper at a cash cost of $1.62 per pound and 0.3 M lbs of molybdenum.
Q3-2021 copper production was at 109% of guidance (YTD-2021: 101% of guidance), due to higher fresh tailings tonnage and grade. During the quarter, MVC also successfully completed a series of planned plant modifications which now allow it to process a higher throughput of fresh tailings without sacrificing recovery. Production from fresh tailings in Q3-2021 accounted for 54% of quarterly production.
Molybdenum production in Q3-2021 was at 100% of guidance2 (YTD-2021: 95% of guidance), marginally affected as more copper production comes from fresh tailings than from Cauquenes, as fresh tailings have lower molybdenum content.
“Amerigo completed Q3-2021 with very strong production results. The annual plant maintenance shutdown was completed successfully and on schedule, and full production operations resumed on October 2, 2021. A total of 1,390 maintenance tasks and projects were completed safely and on time by our team in Chile to ensure MVC’s plant continues to operate as expected,”├é said Aurora Davidson, Amerigo’s President and CEO.
Q3-2020 cash cost of $1.62/lb was 8% lower than the Q3 cash cost guidance of $1.76/lb3 due to higher than projected production and lower than anticipated power, steel and lime costs.
MVC’s average copper price in Q3-2021 was $4.23/lb, compared to $4.44/lb in Q2-2021.
On September 30, 2021, the company’s cash and restricted cash balance was $71 million (an increase of $18 million from June 30, 2021) and outstanding bank debt was $35 million (unchanged from June 30, 2021).
Amerigo produces copper concentrate and molybdenum concentrate as a by-product at the MVC operation in Chile by processing fresh and historic tailings from Codelco’s El Teniente mine, the world’s largest underground copper mine.