GV Gold Operating Results for FY 2020
FY 2020 Highlights
· Total gold production reached 272 koz (including gold in concentrate), up 5% year-on-year.
· The 21% year-on-year increase in gold production at the Taryn mine strategic growth project was driven mainly by a significant increase in the average grade of gold in the ore as a result of the successful completion of the scheduled open-pit reconstruction aimed at the development of new reserves.
· Gold production at the Ugakhan and Golets Vysochaishy deposits remained practically unchanged from the previous year. The main focus was on measures to improve the assets’ operating efficiency and expand the resource base.
· In 2020, the Company re-estimated its reserves and resources in compliance with the JORC Code: M and I&I resources increased by 11% to 7.7 Moz of gold; P&P reserves were confirmed at the level of 4.5 Moz, which makes it possible to completely replenish the reserves depleted since 2017.
· The Svetlovskoye deposit was attributed the status of a promising deposit; its confirmed gold reserves are estimated at around 1.6 Moz in accordance with proprietary assessment data.
· The Company was able to maintain uninterrupted production at its facilities despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company continues to take measures to prevent the spread of the virus at all of its production assets.
· Revenue from sales of refined gold and gold in concentrate is estimated at USD 469 million (+41%).[1]
· Early in 2021, the Board of Directors approved a new dividend policy providing for an increase in payouts to 40% of EBITDA.
· The Company’s 2020 IFRS consolidated financial statements are expected to be released in March 2021.
2021 Guidance
· In 2021, the Company expects to produce 290–300 koz of gold.
· The Company will carry on implementing its organic growth programme aimed at improving the quality of existing assets and optimising costs through improved operating efficiency.
Statement from CEO Vladislav Barshinov:
“In a challenging epidemiological environment, the safety of our employees and their families, continuity of production and consistent implementation of our strategic initiatives, as well as the support for the regions where we operate remain GV Gold’s key priorities. We promptly adapted our business to function under new conditions: we developed and implemented a set of comprehensive measures to establish comfortable conditions for pre-rotation observation of rotational workers and switched our offices to a remote format. The impact of these measures can be seen in the lack of outbreaks of the disease at the Company’s enterprises, the uninterrupted functioning of all mines and the implementation of production growth plans.
“Having identified a new growth cycle, the Company increased gold production by 5% in 2020. This target was achieved thanks to the operating efficiency improvement programme being implemented at all business units. The Taryn mine enjoyed the best result, with an increase of 21%. The open-pit reconstruction was completed at the mine, providing access for development of the new reserves approved in 2019.
“One of the key priorities of our operations is the expansion of the resource potential of our assets, enabling the Company’s steady organic growth. In 2020, we updated our resources and reserves estimate in compliance with the JORC Code: our resources had grown by 11% since 2017 to 7.7 Moz, while our reserves were confirmed at the level of 4.5 Moz.
“The next stage in GV Gold’s development is linked to the implementation of two promising projects – Svetlovsky and Krasny – the scale of which is comparable with that of our flagship assets – Ugakhan and Taryn”.[1] Unaudited data from the consolidated management accounts.