Nordgold Reports Q1 2014 Operating Results
Amsterdam, Netherlands, April 23, 2014 - Nord Gold N.V. (“Nordgold” or the “Company”, LSE: NORD), the internationally diversified, pure-play gold producer strategically focused on emerging markets, announces its operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.
- Lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) for Q1 2014 was 0.40, a significant improvement compared with Q1 2013 (1.15) and Q4 2013 (1.33). Seven of Nordgold’s mines had an LTI free quarter.
- Gold production in Q1 2014 was 211.1 thousand refined gold ounces (“koz”), a 15% increase on Q1 2013 (183.6 koz).
- Eight out of Nordgold’s nine mines achieved a year-on-year production increase, with double digit growth at Bissa, Taparko, Lefa, Neryungri and Aprelkovo as well as a 7% increase at Buryatzoloto and a 3% increase at Berezitovy.
- Our Suzdal mine produced 20.1 thousand ounces of doré in Q1 2014, although very little of the doré was converted to refined metal during the quarter. This was because Suzdal’s refined gold production and sales were affected by negotiations with the National Bank of Kazakhstan and a newly built refinery plant “Tau-Ken Altyn”. The issue was resolved in April 2014 and Suzdal’s doré will be refined and sold during Q2 2014.
- The average realised gold price in Q1 2014 was US$1,299 per oz, a decrease of 20% compared with Q1 2013 (US$1,615/oz) and an increase of 4% compared with Q4 2013 (US$1,250/oz).
- Revenues in Q1 2014 were US$274.8 million, a 7% decrease compared with US$296.8 million in Q1 2013 due to the significantly lower average realised gold price. Revenues for Q1 2014 decreased by 16% compared with US$328.8 million in Q4 2013 as a result of lower refined gold production and sales volumes.
- Nordgold reiterates 2014 full year production guidance of 870 — 920 koz.
- Unaudited net debt at March 31, 2014 was approximately US$729.8 million compared with US$723.9 million as at December 31, 2013.
“This has been a very strong start to the year, building on the progress seen in the second half of 2013. I am delighted to see an improved production performance across nearly the entire asset portfolio, testament to the considerable efforts of our team in driving the efficiencies and improvements necessary. In particular we have seen continued strong performance at Bissa, record recovery at Taparko and further grade improvement at Buryatzoloto following investments in exploration. These improvements give me confidence that Nordgold is well positioned to deliver in a lower price environment and on track to meet our 2014 full year production target.
We have also made good progress on our projects. At Gross we have begun a pilot stage operation which we expect will give us more detailed information about the metallurgy of the future mine and around 30 koz of gold in 2014. The exploration phase at Montagne d’Or deposit in French Guiana continues and has so far shown encouraging results, while we have also begun preparation of an in-house scoping study for the Bouly project in Burkina Faso, located close to our Bissa mine.
The focus of management remains unchanged: to maintain our cost discipline across the Company, carefully manage capex spend and further improve efficiency and safety at all mines. Our goal remains to achieve positive free cash flow generation at all our mines.” Nikolai ZelenskiChief Executive Officer of Nordgold