Lake Shore Gold had a record breaking 2014. More gold was produced last year than the company had expected by over 25 thousand ounces. With the high amount of production the company was able to repay part of its debt.
Lake Shore has paid off 45-million dollars in debt, which is above the company’s target.
By the end of the year, Lake Shore had 60-million in cash and bullion, up from the 34-million when the year begun.
Tony Makuch, President and CEO, says two key priorities for the company in 2014 were debt reduction and generating net free cash flow. The company plans to expand their Timmins West Mine this year.
Full statement from Tony Makuch:
“In 2014, our company achieved record production and exceeded our guidance for the year. We also had a strong cost performance and expect our unit costs to beat our 2014 target ranges both on a full-year basis and in Q4/14. In addition to strong operating results, two key priorities for our company in 2014 were debt reduction and generating net free cash flow. Debt repayments during the year totaled approximately $45.0 million, well above our target of $20.0 to $25.0 million. Even after these debt payments, we were able to increase our cash and bullion in 2014 to approximately$60.0 million, due in large part to the cash flow our business operations generated throughout the year. We also achieved considerable exploration success during 2014, including identifying a new zone of gold mineralization at the 144 Gap with minimum dimensions of 100 metres along strike and 250 metres down dip.
“Turning to 2015, we expect our strong operating performance to continue, with production targeted at 170,000 to 180,000 ounces of gold, and cost guidance including cash operating costs(1) of US$650 to US$700 per ounce, all-in sustaining costs(2) of US$950 to US$1,000 per ounce and total production costs of approximately $125.0 million. In addition, an important theme for the Company this year will be the aggressive advancement of our 144 Gap discovery, a very exciting exploration target located to the southwest of Timmins West Mine. We are planning to spend all of the proceeds from the flow-through financing completed in December at the 144 Gap Zone during 2015.”