Avesoro Resources Inc. Q4 PRODUCTION RESULTS AND FULL YEAR PRODUCTION (4540B)

TIDMASO

RNS Number : 4540B

Avesoro Resources Inc.

10 January 2018

10 January 2018

Avesoro Resources Inc.

TSX: ASO

AIM: ASO

Q4 Production results and Full Year Production

Avesoro Resources Inc., ("Avesoro" or the "Company"), the TSX and AIM listed West African gold producer, is pleased to announce production of 54,407 ounces of gold for the fourth quarter (the "Quarter" or "Q4") and 192,072 ounces of gold for the full year, across the three mines now owned by the Company.

New Liberty Gold Mine, Liberia ("New Liberty")

Fourth quarter 2017 production from New Liberty was 25,563 ounces of gold, a 29% increase on the previous quarter and in line with guidance provided at the time of the Q3 production update. The strong Quarter resulted in record full year production from the mine of 76,179 ounces of gold, towards the upper end of our guidance range and representing a 20% increase on 2016 production levels.

Youga and Balogo Gold Mines, Burkina Faso ("Youga" and "Balogo")

Youga and Balogo, which were acquired by the Company on 18 December 2017, produced 28,845 ounces of gold in the Quarter, resulting in strong full year total production of 115,893 ounces of gold, ahead of Company forecasts.

Table 1: Group Full Year 2017 Production Statistics

 
     Parameter        Unit     New Liberty   Youga and    Full Year 2017 
                                              Balogo(1)    Group Results 
------------------  --------  ------------  -----------  --------------- 
  Ore Mined            kt         1,166         870           2,036 
------------------  --------  ------------  -----------  --------------- 
  Waste Mined          kt        12,935        8,645          21,580 
------------------  --------  ------------  -----------  --------------- 
  Total Material 
   Movement            kt        14,102        9,515          23,617 
------------------  --------  ------------  -----------  --------------- 
  Ore Processed        kt         1,144        1,200          2,344 
------------------  --------  ------------  -----------  --------------- 
  Gold Production    Ounces      76,179       115,894        192,073 
------------------  --------  ------------  -----------  --------------- 
 

Note: (1) Including the period prior to acquisition by the Company.

Serhan Umurhan, Chief Executive Officer of Avesoro, commented:

"We are pleased to report a strong Quarter and combined total production for 2017 of 192,072 ounces of gold from the three mines now owned by the Company. At New Liberty, the year has been focussed on the now completed turnaround resulting in the Company meeting its revised guidance for the year. I would like to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of the New Liberty team throughout 2017, that enabled us to achieve record annual gold production. Q4 2017 was New Liberty's strongest quarterly performance to date, driven by improved mining performance and increased plant throughput.

The acquisition of Youga and Balogo in December 2017 adds two low cost operating mines to our portfolio capable of generating significant free cash flow for the Company. I am particularly pleased that we were able to complete this transaction during 2017 and take an important step towards realising our stated plan of becoming a premier mid-tier African gold producer.

We start 2018 with a solid foundation from which to further increase our gold production levels and reduce operating costs. We now look forward to delivering an even stronger performance in 2018 and will provide an update on 2018 production guidance in due course."

Key Production Statistics

Table 2: New Liberty - Key Production Statistics

 
   Parameter        Unit      Q1 2017   Q2 2017   Q3 2017   Q4 2017      Q3 - Q4 
                                                                       2017 Variance 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
      Ore 
     Mined           kt           351       214       247       354              43% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
     Waste 
     Mined           kt         3,944     3,565     2,981     2,445             -18% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
     Strip 
     Ratio       Waste:Ore       11.2      16.7      12.1       6.9             -43% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
     Total 
    Material 
    Movement         kt         4,295     3,779     3,228     2,800             -13% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
     Plant 
  Utilisation        %             92        89        72        85              18% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
      Ore 
   Processed         kt           280       295       254       315              24% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
   Recovery          %             90        88        91        90              -1% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
     Gold 
   Production      Ounces      14,906    15,825    19,885    25,563              29% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------------- 
 

Table 3: Youga and Balogo - Key Production Statistics

 
   Parameter        Unit      Q1 2017   Q2 2017   Q3 2017   Q4 2017     Q3 - 
                                                                       Q4 2017 
                                                                       Variance 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
      Ore 
     Mined           kt         281       220       159       210        32% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
     Waste 
     Mined           kt        1,883     2,528     2,283     1,951      -15% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
     Strip 
     Ratio       Waste:Ore      6.7      11.5      14.4       9.3       -35% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
     Total 
    Material 
    Movement         kt        2,164     2,748     2,442     2,161      -12% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
     Plant 
  Utilisation        %          98        98        97        98         1% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
      Ore 
   Processed         kt         318       299       277       306        11% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
   Recovery          %          90        92        89        89         -1% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
     Gold 
   Production      Ounces     16,900    32,023    38,126    28,845      -24% 
--------------  -----------  --------  --------  --------  --------  ---------- 
 

Contact Information

 
 Avesoro Resources Inc.      Camarco 
  Geoff Eyre / Nick Smith     Gordon Poole / Nick 
  Tel: [phone]    Hennis 
                              Tel: [phone] 
                              4980 
--------------------------  ----------------------------- 
 Numis Securities Limited    Hannam & Partners (Advisory) 
  (Nominated Adviser and      LLP 
  Joint Broker)               (Joint Broker) 
  John Prior / James Black    Rupert Fane / Ingo Hofmaier 
  / Paul Gillam               / Ernest Bell 
  Tel: [phone]    Tel: [phone] 
                              8500 
--------------------------  ----------------------------- 
 

About Avesoro Resources Inc.

Avesoro Resources is a West Africa focused gold producer and development company that operates three gold mines across West Africa and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and the AIM market operated by the London Stock Exchange ("AIM"). The Company's assets include the New Liberty Gold Mine in Liberia (the "New Liberty Gold Mine" or "New Liberty") and the Youga and Balogo Gold mines in Burkina Faso ("Youga" and "Balogo").

New Liberty has an estimated proven and probable mineral reserve of 7.4Mt with 717,000 ounces of gold grading 3.03g/t and an estimated measured and indicated mineral resource of 9.6Mt with 985,000 ounces of gold grading 3.2g/t and an estimated inferred mineral resource of 6.4Mt with 620,000 ounces of gold grading 3.0g/t. The foregoing Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates and additional information in connection therewith is set out in an NI 43-101 compliant Technical Report dated 1 November 2017 and entitled "New Liberty Gold Mine, Bea Mountain Mining Licence Southern Block, Liberia, West Africa" and is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Youga and Balogo have a combined estimated proven and probable mineral reserve of 9.3Mt with 513,000 ounces of gold grading 1.7g/t and a combined estimated indicated mineral resource of 16.05Mt with 801,600 ounces of gold grading 1.55g/t and a combined inferred mineral resource of 13Mt with 655,000 ounces of gold grading 1.57g/t. The foregoing Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates and additional information in connection therewith is set out in two NI 43-101 compliant Technical Reports, dated 16 June 2017 entitled "Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Update for the Balogo Project" and dated 19 June 2017 and entitled "Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Update for the Youga and Ouaré Projects" and are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

For more information, please visit www.avesoro.com

Qualified Persons

The Company's Qualified Person is Mark J. Pryor, who holds a BSc (Hons) in Geology & Mineralogy from Aberdeen University, United Kingdom and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists and a registered Professional Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat) of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions. Mark Pryor is an independent technical consultant with over 25 years of global experience in exploration, mining and mine development and is a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43 -101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" of the Canadian Securities Administrators and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosures contained in this announcement.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

UPDSFWSMSFASEDF

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 10, 2018 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)