6 July 2018
Acacia Mining
plc
(“Acacia”, “Group” or the
“Company”)
Second Quarter
2018 Production Results
“We are pleased to report another strong operating performance
in the second quarter, delivering Group production of 133,778
ounces which led to an increase in the Group’s cash balance of
US$13 million to US$120 million”, said Peter Geleta, Interim Chief Executive
Officer. “In achieving first half production of 254,759 ounces
we are on track to achieve the top end of our guidance range of
435,000-475,000 ounces for 2018 and continue to demonstrate the
resilience that we have built within our business.”
Group gold production for the quarter of 133,778 ounces was a
36% decrease on Q2 2017 (208,533 ounces), primarily driven by the
move to reduced operations at Bulyanhulu and to stockpile
processing at Buzwagi. Gold ounces sold for the quarter of 134,090
ounces were slightly above gold produced for the quarter as a
result of the timing of shipments.
At North Mara, gold production for the quarter of 85,920 ounces
was 3% higher than Q2 2017 (83,110 ounces) mainly due to 4% higher
head grades compared to Q2 2017, driven by higher grades from
Gokona Underground.
At Buzwagi, gold production of 37,415 ounces for Q2 2018 was 44%
lower than in Q2 2017 (66,227 ounces) as a result of production now
being derived solely from lower grade ore stockpiles due to the
effective completion of the open pit.
At Bulyanhulu, all gold production continued to be from the
retreatment of tailings as a result of the move to reduced
operations at the mine in late 2017. As a result, gold production
for the quarter amounted to 10,443 ounces, 82% below Q2 2017’s
overall production result (59,196 ounces), but 18% higher than
production from tailings retreatment in Q2 2017 (8,856 ounces).
The cash balance as at 30 June
2018 amounted to US$120
million and increased by US$13
million during the quarter, with net cash increasing to
approximately US$63 million at period
end.
Acacia will be releasing its second quarter results at
07:00 BST on 20 July and a
presentation and webcast will be held for analysts and investors at
12.00 BST on the same day. The webcast will be accessible from
www.acaciamining.com and the details for the webcast call are as
follows:
Participant dial
in: +44 20 3936
2999
Password:
69 32 26
ENQUIRIES
For further information, please visit our website
(www.acaciamining.com) or contact:
Acacia Mining plc
+44 (0) 20 7129 7150
Giles Blackham, Head of Investor
Relations
Camarco
+44 (0) 20 3757 4980
Gordon Poole / Nick Hennis
About Acacia Mining plc
Acacia Mining plc (LSE:ACA) is the UK holding company of the
Acacia Group, Tanzania’s largest gold miner and one of the largest
producers of gold in Africa. The
Acacia Group has three mines, all located in north-west
Tanzania: Bulyanhulu, which is
owned and operated by Bulyanhulu Gold Mine Limited, Buzwagi, which
is owned and operated by Pangea Minerals Limited and North Mara,
which is owned and operated by North Mara Gold Mine Limited.
The Acacia Group also has a portfolio of exploration projects in
Kenya, Burkina Faso and Mali. Acacia is a UK public company
headquartered in London. We are
listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange with a
secondary listing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. Barrick Gold
Corporation is our majority shareholder. Acacia reports in US
dollars and in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European
Union, unless otherwise stated in this announcement.
Disclaimer and forward-looking
statements
This announcement is for information
purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to
underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any
securities of Acacia in any jurisdiction.
This announcement includes
“forward-looking statements” that express or imply expectations of
future events or results as opposed to historical facts. These
statements include, financial projections and estimates and their
underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and
expectations with respect to future production, operations, costs,
projects, and statements regarding future performance.
Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words
“plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,”
“estimates” and other similar expressions.
All forward-looking statements
involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of
which are beyond the control of Acacia, which could cause actual
results and developments to differ materially from those expressed
in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements contained herein.
Factors that could cause or contribute to differences between the
actual results, performance and achievements of Acacia include, but
are not limited to, changes or developments in political, economic
or business conditions or national or local legislation or
regulation in countries in which Acacia conducts - or may in the
future conduct - business, industry trends, competition,
fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold or certain other
commodity prices (such as copper and diesel), currency fluctuations
(including the US dollar, South African rand, Kenyan shilling and
Tanzanian shilling exchange rates), Acacia’s ability to
successfully integrate acquisitions, Acacia’s ability to recover
its reserves or develop new reserves, including its ability to
convert its resources into reserves and its mineral potential into
resources or reserves, and to process its mineral reserves
successfully and in a timely manner, Acacia’s ability to complete
land acquisitions required to support its mining activities,
operational or technical difficulties which may occur in the
context of mining activities, delays and technical challenges
associated with the completion of projects, risk of trespass, theft
and vandalism, changes in Acacia’s business strategy and ongoing
implementation of operational reviews, as well as risks and hazards
associated with the business of mineral exploration, development,
mining and production and risks and factors affecting the gold
mining industry in general.
Although Acacia’s management believes
that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements
are reasonable, Acacia cannot give assurances that such statements
will prove to be correct. Accordingly, investors should not place
reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this
announcement. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement
only reflect information available at the time of preparation. Save
as required under the Market Abuse Regulation or otherwise as may
be required under applicable law, Acacia explicitly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking publicly to update or revise any
forward-looking statements in this announcement, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. Nothing in
this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast or
estimate and no statement made should be interpreted to mean that
Acacia’s profits or earnings per share for any future period will
necessarily match or exceed its historical published pro