Marathon Gold Announces 2023 Second Quarter Results
TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Gold Corporation (“Marathon” or the “Company”; TSX: MOZ) today announces its financial results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2023, and provides an update on the Company’s activities at the Valentine Gold Project (the “Project”) in the central region of Newfoundland and Labrador (“NL”).
Second Quarter Financial Results (all figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted):
- Cash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2023 of
$130 million . - Capital Expenditures of
$33.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, including$32 million related to construction of the Project. - Net Income of
$0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023.
Second Quarter 2023 Highlights
- The Company completed the sale of an additional
1.5% net smelter returns royalty (“NSR”) on its Project to Franco-Nevada Corporation (“Franco-Nevada”) for US$45 million , resulting in Franco-Nevada holding an aggregate3.0% NSR on the Project. - In addition, subsequent to quarter end on July 10, 2023, the Company closed its previously announced C
$6.9 million non-brokered charity flow-through offering at a price of C$1.04 88, of which Franco-Nevada participated in the back-end. The proceeds of the offering are to be used for eligible exploration expenditures on the Company’s land package, including, the prospective eastern-arm area. - The Company completed a Socio-Economic Agreement with the Miawpukek First Nation.
- At the 2023 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders on June 7, 223, Ms. Teodora Dechev was appointed to the Board of Directors and, subsequently, and Mr. Peter MacPhail was appointed to Chairperson. Marathon thanked its outgoing Chairperson, Mr. George Faught, who did not stand for re-election.
Project KPIs (at June 30, 2023)
- During June 2023, the Project exceeded 500,000 hours of site work completed without a lost time incident.
- At the end of the second quarter, overall completion at the Project stood at
35% , with engineering at87% , procurement at60% , and construction at15% . - 454 Marathon employees and contractors are employed or providing services to the Project,
80% of whom are residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. - The Project’s cost-to-complete, including contingency, was estimated at
$463 million at October 31, 2022 and C$391 million at June 30, 2023. - Variance trend of +
$40.5 million or8% on the estimated cost at completion. Project construction costs incurred from November 1, 2022 to the end of June 2023 were$113 million , of a total$271 million committed. An aggregate$7.3 million of contingency had been drawn against a total contingency reserve of$39 million at June 30, 2023. - The Project remains on schedule for first gold production in the first quarter of 2025.
Financial Performance
The results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2023 are summarized below (all figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted):
Factors affecting financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2023:
(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars) | Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||
2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||
EXPENSES | |||||||||||||||||
General and administrative expense | $ | 4,445 | $ | 857 | $ | 6,211 | $ | 3,182 | |||||||||
Finance income, net | (5,640 | ) | (178 | ) | (6,705 | ) | (278 | ) | |||||||||
Other income, net | (80 | ) | (40 | ) | (161 | ) | (82 | ) | |||||||||
(Income)/Loss before tax | $ | (1,275 | ) | $ | 639 | $ | (655 | ) | $ | 2,822 | |||||||
Deferred income tax expense/(recovery) | 266 | (2,271 | ) | 519 | (649 | ) | |||||||||||
Net (Income)/Loss | $ | (1,009 | ) | $ | (1,632 | ) | $ | (136 | ) | $ | 2,173 | ||||||
Capital expenditures¹ | $ | 33,465 | $ | 9,242 | $ | 94,348 | $ | 22,594 |
- Capital expenditures are presented on a cash basis.
General and administrative expenses increased from
Finance income, net increased from
Deferred income tax expense increased from a recovery
Capital expenditures were
Qualified Persons
Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature in this news release has been approved by Mr. Tim Williams, FAusIMM, Chief Operating Officer of Marathon, Mr. Paolo Toscano, P.Eng. (Ont.), Vice President, Projects for Marathon, Mr. James Powell, P.Eng. (NL), Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs for Marathon and Mr. David Ross, P.Geo. (NL), Vice President of Geology and Exploration for Marathon. Mr. Williams, Mr. Toscano, Mr. Powell and Mr. Ross are qualified persons under National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101. Mr. Roy Eccles, P.Geo. (NL), of APEX Geoscience Ltd. is a Qualified Person for purposes of NI 43-101, is independent of Marathon and the Valentine Gold Project, and has reviewed and takes responsibility for the updated 2022 MRE prepared by John T. Boyd Company.
About Marathon
Marathon (TSX:MOZ) is a Toronto based gold company advancing its
For more information, please contact:
Amanda Mallough | Matt Manson | Julie Robertson |
Manager, Investor Relations | President & CEO | CFO |
Tel: 416 855-8202 | mmanson@marathon-gold.com | jrobertson@marathon-gold.com |
amallough@marathon-gold.com | ||
To find out more information on Marathon Gold Corporation and the Valentine Gold Project, please visit www.marathon-gold.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Certain information contained in this news release, constitutes forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, which address events, results, outcomes or developments that Marathon expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “believes”, “estimates”, “considers”, “intends”, “targets”, or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “would” and “could”. We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our current expectations and plans relating to the future, and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. More particularly and without restriction, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information about the Updated Feasibility Study and the results therefrom (including IRR, NPV
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions and accordingly, actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. You are hence cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. In respect of the forward-looking statements concerning the interpretation of exploration results and the impact on the Project’s mineral resource estimate, the Company has provided such statements in reliance on certain assumptions it believes are reasonable at this time, including assumptions as to the continuity of mineralization between drill holes. A mineral resource that is classified as “inferred” or “indicated” has a great amount of uncertainty as to its existence and economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any or part of an “inferred mineral resource” or an “indicated mineral resource” will ever be upgraded to a higher category of mineral resource. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into proven and probable mineral reserves.
By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. Factors that could cause future results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits and conclusions of economic evaluations; uncertainty as to estimation of mineral resources; inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral resources); the potential for delays or changes in plans in exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, or the completion of feasibility studies due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that future exploration, development, construction or mining results will not be consistent with the Company’s expectations; risks related to the ability of the current exploration program to identify and expand mineral resources; risks relating to possible variations in grade, planned mining dilution and ore loss, or recovery rates and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; operational mining and development risks, including risks related to accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes (including work stoppages and strikes) or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration and development; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; risks related to commodity and power prices, foreign exchange rate fluctuations and changes in interest rates; the uncertainty of profitability based upon the cyclical nature of the mining industry; risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental or other stakeholder approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; risks related to environmental regulation and liability, government regulation and permitting; risks relating to the Company’s ability to attract and retain skilled staff; risks relating to the timing of the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals for continued operations and future development projects; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks relating to the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company and the mining industry; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; and other risks described in Marathon’s documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2022.
You can find further information with respect to these and other risks in Marathon’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other filings made with Canadian securities regulatory authorities available at www.sedar.com. Other than as specifically required by law, Marathon undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results otherwise.