Amerigo’s MVC Resumes Normal Production
21 September 2023 - 1:30PM
Amerigo Resources Ltd. (TSX: ARG; OTCQX: ARREF)
(“Amerigo” or the “Company”) announced today that Minera Valle
Central (“MVC”), the Company’s 100% owned operation located near
Rancagua, Chile, has resumed normal production after completing the
removal of more than 2.2 million cubic meters of water from the
Cauquenes historical tailings deposit.
The excess water at Cauquenes accumulated
following heavy and sustained rainfall in the region from August 19
to September 10. To expedite the resumption of normal operations at
Cauquenes, pumping equipment was diverted to remove water from
Cauquenes rather than provide historic tailings to the
concentrator. However, during this time, MVC continued to process
fresh tailings from El Teniente.
The annual rainfall in 2023 at MVC is estimated
to be more than 695 mm. This figure is approximately 160% more than
the yearly precipitation totals of 287 mm in 2022 and 247 mm in
2021. The last day of heavy rain was September 10, 2023; as of the
date of this news release, there is no heavy rainfall in the
forecast. The rain season at MVC is typically over by this time of
the year.
As previously stated in its news release of
September 11, 2023, Amerigo now estimates that MVC’s copper
production for the quarter to end September 30, 2023 (“Q3-2023”)
will be approximately 11.1 million pounds (“M lbs”). This is 2.7
million pounds lower than the Company’s revised copper production
guidance of 13.8 M lbs issued after MVC was impacted by flooding in
the region in June 2023.
“After more than three years of exceeding
production guidance, this is unquestionably an anomalous production
period for Amerigo,” said Aurora Davidson, Amerigo’s President and
CEO. She added, “However, operations are now back to normal, and
all members of the Amerigo and MVC teams are working at full
capacity to exceed our Q4-2023 copper production guidance of 16.6 M
lbs. The Company's financial strength has absorbed the production
shortfalls in the second and third quarters, and the fundamentals
of Amerigo’s multi-year capital allocation strategy remain in
place”.
About Amerigo and Minera Valle Central
(“MVC”)
Amerigo Resources Ltd. is an innovative copper
producer with a long-term relationship with Corporación Nacional
del Cobre de Chile (“Codelco”), the world’s largest copper
producer.
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. Tel:
(604) 681-2802; Web: www.amerigoresources.com; ARG:TSX; OTCQX:
ARREF
Contact Information
Aurora Davidson |
Graham Farrell |
President and CEO |
Investor Relations |
(604)697-6207 |
(416)842-9003 |
ad@amerigoresources.com |
graham.farrell@harbor-access.com |
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
This news release contains certain
forward-looking information and statements defined in applicable
securities laws (collectively called "forward-looking statements").
These statements relate to future events or the Company’s future
performance. All statements other than statements of historical
fact are forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words
"anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may",
"will", "project", "predict", "potential", "should", "believe" and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements concerning:
- forecasted copper production for
Q3-2023 and Q4-2023;
- the maintenance of the Company’s
return of capital strategy;
- our strategies and objectives;
- our estimates of the availability
and quantity of tailings and the quality of our mine plan
estimates;
- the sufficiency of MVC’s water
reserves to maintain projected Cauquenes tonnage processing for a
period of at least 18 months;
- prices and price volatility for
copper, molybdenum and other commodities and materials we use in
our operations;
- the demand for and supply of
copper, molybdenum and other commodities and materials that we
produce, sell and use;
- sensitivity of our financial
results and share price to changes in commodity prices;
- our financial resources and
financial condition and our expected ability to redeploy other
tools of our capital return strategy;
- interest and other expenses;
- domestic and foreign laws affecting
our operations;
- our tax position and the tax rates
applicable to us;
- our ability to comply with our loan
covenants;
- the production capacity of our
operations, our planned production levels and future
production;
- potential impact of production and
transportation disruptions;
- hazards inherent in the mining
industry causing personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to
or destruction of property and equipment, pollution or
environmental damage, claims by third parties and suspension of
operations
- estimates of asset retirement
obligations and other costs related to environmental
protection;
- our future capital and production
costs, including the costs and potential impact of complying with
existing and proposed environmental laws and regulations in the
operation and closure of our operations;
- repudiation, nullification,
modification or renegotiation of contracts;
- our financial and operating
objectives;
- our environmental, health and
safety initiatives;
- the outcome of legal proceedings
and other disputes in which we may be involved;
- the outcome of negotiations
concerning metal sales, treatment charges and royalties;
- disruptions to the Company's
information technology systems, including those related to
cybersecurity;
- our dividend policy, including the
potential deployment of performance dividends in 2023; and
- general business and economic
conditions, including, but not limited to, our assessment of strong
market fundamentals supporting copper prices.
These forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results or events to differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Inherent in forward-looking
statements are risks and uncertainties beyond our ability to
predict or control, including risks that may affect our operating
or capital plans; risks generally encountered in the permitting and
development of mineral projects such as unusual or unexpected
geological formations, negotiations with government and other third
parties, unanticipated metallurgical difficulties, delays
associated with permits, approvals and permit appeals, ground
control problems, adverse weather conditions (including, but not
limited to, continued extreme rainfall), process upsets and
equipment malfunctions; risks associated with labour disturbances
and availability of skilled labour and management; risks related to
the potential impact of global or national health concerns,
including COVID-19, and the inability of employees to access
sufficient healthcare; government or regulatory actions or
inactions; fluctuations in the market prices of our principal
commodities, which are cyclical and subject to substantial price
fluctuations; risks created through competition for mining projects
and properties; risks associated with lack of access to markets;
risks associated with availability of and our ability to obtain
both tailings from Codelco’s Division El Teniente’s current
production and historic tailings from tailings deposit; the
availability of and ability of the Company to obtain adequate
funding on reasonable terms for expansions and acquisitions; mine
plan estimates; risks posed by fluctuations in exchange rates and
interest rates, as well as general economic conditions; risks
associated with environmental compliance and changes in
environmental legislation and regulation; risks associated with our
dependence on third parties for the provision of critical services;
risks associated with non-performance by contractual
counterparties; risks associated with supply chain disruptions;
title risks; social and political risks associated with operations
in foreign countries; risks of changes in laws affecting our
operations or their interpretation, including foreign exchange
controls; and risks associated with tax reassessments and legal
proceedings. Many of these risks and uncertainties apply to the
Company and its operations and Codelco and its operations.
Codelco’s ongoing mining operations provide a significant portion
of the materials the Company processes and its resulting metals
production. Therefore, these risks and uncertainties may also
affect their operations and have a material effect on the
Company.
Actual results and developments will likely
differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements in this news release. Such statements
are based on several assumptions which may prove to be incorrect,
including, but not limited to, assumptions about:
- general business and economic
conditions;
- interest and currency exchange
rates;
- changes in commodity and power
prices;
- acts of foreign governments and the
outcome of legal proceedings;
- the supply and demand for,
deliveries of, and the level and volatility of prices of copper,
molybdenum and other commodities and products used in our
operations;
- the ongoing supply of material for
processing from Codelco’s current mining operations;
- the grade and projected recoveries
of tailings processed by MVC;
- the ability of the Company to
profitably extract and process material from the Cauquenes tailings
deposit;
- the timing of the receipt of and
retention of permits and other regulatory and governmental
approvals;
- our costs of production and our
production and productivity levels, as well as those of our
competitors;
- changes in credit market conditions
and conditions in financial markets generally;
- our ability to procure equipment
and operating supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely
basis;
- the availability of qualified
employees and contractors for our operations;
- our ability to attract and retain
skilled staff;
- the satisfactory negotiation of
collective agreements with unionized employees;
- the impact of changes in foreign
exchange rates and capital repatriation on our costs and
results;
- engineering and construction
timetables and capital costs for our expansion projects;
- costs of closure of various
operations;
- market competition;
- tax benefits and tax rates;
- the outcome of our copper
concentrate sales and treatment and refining charge
negotiations;
- the resolution of environmental and
other proceedings or disputes;
- the future supply of reasonably
priced power;
- rainfall in the vicinity of MVC
continuing to trend towards normal levels;
- average recoveries for fresh
tailings and Cauquenes tailings;
- our ability to obtain, comply with
and renew permits and licenses in a timely manner; and
- our ongoing relations with our
employees and entities we do business with.
Future production levels and cost estimates
assume no adverse mining or other events significantly affecting
budgeted production levels.
Although the Company believes that these
assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions
are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and
contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are
beyond the Company’s control, the Company cannot assure that it
will achieve or accomplish the expectations, beliefs or projections
described in the forward-looking statements.
The preceding list of important factors and
assumptions is not exhaustive. Other events or circumstances could
cause our results to differ materially from those estimated,
projected, and expressed in or implied by our forward-looking
statements. You should also consider the matters discussed under
Risk Factors in the Company`s Annual Information Form. The
forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the
date of this news release. Except as required by law, we undertake
no obligation to publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking
statements or the preceding list of factors, whether due to new
information or future events.
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