Golden Minerals Company (NYSEMKT:AUMN, TSX:AUMN, ETR:7GB, FRA:7GB) sees strong second-quarter results from the first full quarter of gold and silver production at its open-pit Rodeo Mine, located in Durango State, in Mexico.
For the period ended June 30, 2021, the Golden, Colorado-based company had a net operating margin of $2.5 million based on revenue of $5.9 million, against $3.3 million in cost of metals sold related to mining at Rodeo.
This bested the company’s $1.2 million revenue and net operating margin of $0.8 million related to a lease of the company’s oxide mill at the Velardeña Properties to Hecla Mining in the second quarter of 2020. That lease ended on November 30, 2020.
READ: Golden Minerals is well on its way to profitable mining production in 2021
Golden Minerals had $6.9 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2021, compared to $9.7 million at the end of 2020.
Exploration expenses were estimated at $1.1 million in 2Q 2021, compared to $0.8 million in the same period in 2020.
Significantly, the company narrowed its net loss to $0.8 million or $0.00 per share in the quarter, compared to a net loss of $2.3 million or $0.02 per share in the 2Q 2020.
Golden Minerals said it produced “3,634 payable gold equivalent ounces (AuEq oz) with total cash costs, net of silver by-product credits, per payable ounce of gold of $915.”
The company sold 3,230 AuEq ounce in doré, with 908 AuEq ounce in doré inventory at the end of the quarter. Golden Minerals reported grades processed of 3.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 10 g/t silver during the quarter.
In a statement accompanying the numbers, Golden Minerals CEO Warren Rehn said: “We are pleased to report strong results from the first full quarter of gold-silver production at Rodeo. We achieved average throughput levels at over 500 tonnes per day (tpd) in May and June and lowered our cash operating costs to $915 per payable gold oz in the quarter.”
“We remain on course to achieve 2021 production guidance of 12,000-14,000 ounces gold and 25,000-30,000 ounces silver. We anticipate continuing to operate the mill at greater than 500 tpd through the rest of the year at average grades of approximately 3.3 g/t gold and 9.7 g/t silver.”
In April this year, Golden Minerals completed the installation of a new regrind mill circuit at the Velardeña oxide plant that processes Rodeo gold and silver-bearing material. “The circuit enabled the company to reach and exceed Rodeo’s targeted 450 tpd throughput, averaging greater than 500 tpd in May and June,” said the company.
The company also reported initial results from a 2,000-meter exploration drill program at Rodeo in June aimed at expanding the resource.
Golden Minerals has a strong pipeline of exploration projects that it plans to advance using the cash flow generated from its Rodeo and Velardeña operations. The company owns the El Quevar silver property in Argentina and is advancing mining properties in Mexico, Nevada, and Argentina.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive