VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atico Mining Corporation (the “Company” or “Atico”) (TSX.V: ATY | OTCQX: ATCMF) is pleased to announce operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 from its El Roble mine. Production totaled 3.7 million pounds of copper with 1,918 ounces of gold for the fourth quarter (“Q4 2024”) and 13.67 million pounds of copper with 9,025 ounces of gold in concentrates for the full year in 2024.
“The Company had a solid operational year overall as we met our production guidance for most metrics. Gold production was slightly below budget, primarily due to a decrease in head grade, while copper production, our primary commodity, reached this year’s target. We expect these results to generate strong revenue and improved financial performance for year ended 2024." said Fernando E. Ganoza, CEO. "In the coming year, we have key milestones yet to achieve. In the first quarter, we anticipate an arbitration ruling related to the royalty dispute at the El Roble mine. Furthermore, at El Roble we plan to allocate significant effort to drilling the deposit and exploring for additional mineralization in the mine vicinity. At La Plata in Ecuador, we will continue to advance the project to secure the environmental license, with the goal of reaching a positive construction decision in the second half of the year."
Fourth Quarter and Full Year Operational Highlights
Fourth Quarter
Production of 3.7 million pounds of copper contained in concentrates; a decrease of 16% over Q4 2023.
Production of 1,918 ounces of gold contained in concentrates; a decrease of 26% over Q4 2023.
Average processed tonnes per day of 827; a decrease of 3% over Q4 2023.
Copper and gold head grades of 2.60% and 1.29 grams per tonne, respectively; a decrease of 10% for copper and a decrease of 26% for gold over Q4 2023.
Copper and gold recovery of 92.2% and 66.0%, respectively; a decrease of 2% for copper and an increase of 5% for gold over Q4 2023.
2024 Year-end
Production of 13.67 million pounds of copper contained in concentrates; an increase of 3% over 2023.
Production of 9,025 ounces of gold contained in concentrates; a decrease of 11% over 2023.
Average processed tonnes per day of 836; no significant change over 2023.
Copper and gold head grades of 2.46% and 1.61 grams per tonne, respectively; an increase of 5% for copper and a decrease of 15% for gold over 2023.
Copper and gold recovery of 92.1% and 63.6%, respectively; no significant change for copper and an increase of 5% for gold over 2023.
Fourth Quarter and Full Year Operational Details
Q1 Total
Q2 Total
Q3 Total
Q4 Total
2024 Total
Production (Contained in Concentrates)
Copper (000s pounds)
3,349
3,710
2,912
3,697
13,668
Gold (ounces)
2,185
2,850
2,072
1,918
9,025
Mine
Tonnes of ore mined
64,873
70,826
67,869
69,696
273,264
Mill
Tonnes processed
65,787
71,079
67,354
69,961
274,181
Tonnes processed per day
811
852
856
827
836
Copper grade (%)
2.52
2.57
2.13
2.60
2.46
Gold grade (g/t)
1.67
1.95
1.52
1.29
1.61
Recoveries
Copper (%)
91.8
92.0
92.2
92.2
92.1
Gold (%)
61.7
64.2
62.9
66.0
63.6
Concentrates
Copper and gold concentrates (dmt)
8,274
9,197
7,248
9,203
33,922
Payable copper produced (000s lbs)
3,148
3,487
2,737
3,474
12,846
Note: Metal production figures are subject to adjustments based on final settlement.
Concentrate Inventory
The number of shipments the Company can export in any given quarter depends on several variables some of which the Company does not control, hence there may be an inherent variability in tonnes shipped quarter to quarter.
Q4 2024
Amounts in dry metric tonnes
Opening inventory
5,823
Production
9,203
Sales
-8,852
Adjustments
-5
Closing inventory
6,169
Number of shipments
1
Note: Concentrate figures are subject to adjustments based on final surveys and final settlement of sales.
2025 Operating and Cost Guidance
Copper (000s pounds)
11,000 to 12,300
Gold (ounces)
12,000 to 13,500
C1 Cash Cost ($US)(1)
$1.60 to $1.70
Note: Please see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” at the end of this release. C1 cash cost per pound of payable copper produced net of by-product credits.
El Roble Mine
The El Roble mine is a high grade, underground copper and gold mine with nominal processing plant capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day, located in the Department of Choco in Colombia. Its commercial product is a copper-gold concentrate.
Since obtaining control of the mine on November 22, 2013, Atico has upgraded the operation from a historical nominal capacity of 400 tonnes per day.
El Roble’s reserves estimate, with an effective date of March 12, 2024, includes Proven and Probable mineral reserves of 828 thousand tonnes averaging 2.49% Cu, 2.20 g/t Au and a life of mine until Q1-2027. A full NI 43-101 technical report is available on SEDAR+. For more information on the reserves estimate refer to SEDAR+ and on the Company’s website.
Mineralization is open at depth and along strike and the Company plans to further test the limits of the deposit. On the larger land package, the Company has identified a prospective stratigraphic contact between volcanic rocks and black and grey pelagic sediments and cherts that has been traced by Atico geologists for ten kilometers. This contact has been determined to be an important control on VMS mineralization on which Atico has identified numerous target areas prospective for VMS type mineralization occurrence, which is the focus of the current surface drill program at El Roble.
Qualified Person
Mr. Thomas Kelly (SME Registered Member 1696580), advisor to the Company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 standards, is responsible for ensuring that the technical information contained in this news release is an accurate summary of the original reports and data provided to or developed by Atico.
About Atico Mining Corporation
Atico is a growth-oriented Company, focused on exploring, developing and mining copper and gold projects in Latin America. The Company generates significant cash flow through the operation of the El Roble mine and is developing its high-grade La Plata VMS project in Ecuador. The Company is also pursuing additional acquisition of advanced stage opportunities. For more information, please visitwww.aticomining.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Fernando E. Ganoza CEO Atico Mining Corporation
Trading symbols: TSX.V: ATY | OTCQX: ATCMF
Investor Relations Igor Dutina Tel: +1.604.633.9022
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ‘‘U.S. Securities Act’’), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act) unless pursuant to an exemption therefrom. This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction.
This announcement includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation the use of net proceeds, are forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs; the need to obtain additional financing to maintain its interest in and/or explore and develop the Company’s mineral projects; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones for the Company’s mineral projects; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the AIF of the Company dated September 4, 2024 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.com.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The items marked with a "(1)" are alternative performance measures and readers should refer to “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the 9 months ended September 30, 2024, (“Q3-2024 MD&A”) as filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca under the Company’s profile and as available on the Company's website for further details. To facilitate a better understanding of these measures as calculated by the Company, descriptions are provided in “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in the Company’s Q3-2024 MD&A, including an explanation of their composition; an explanation of how such measures provide useful information to an investor and the additional purposes, if any, for which management of Atico uses such measures; and a qualitative reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable historical financial measure that is disclosed in the Company’s financial Statements as of September 30, 2024.
