ASX ANNOUNCEMENT
Silver Lake Resources Ltd ("Silver Lake" or "the Company")
Suite 4, Level 3 South Shore Centre
85 South Perth Esplanade South Perth WA 6151
TEL +61 8 6313 3800
FAX +61 8 6313 3888
ABN 38 108 779 782
Board of Directors:
David Quinlivan Luke Tonkin Les Davis Kelvin Flynn Brian Kennedy
ASX Code: SLR
MARCH 2016 QUARTERLY ACTIVITIES REPORT
-
Gold sales of 34,495 ounces (average sale price of A$1,601/oz)
-
All in sustaining cost (AISC) of A$1,254/oz
-
Cash & bullion increased A$8.2m to A$42.4m
-
Imperial/Majestic mining services agreement awarded and pre-production activities have commenced
-
Maxwells A$1.4 million accelerated drilling program delivers strong results
-
Settled A$3.1m of non-core asset sales during quarter
-
Highly encouraging results from extensive air core drilling program proximal to the Daisy Complex demonstrate successful exploration strategy
-
FY16 Gold sales 130,000 - 135,000 ounces
Issued Capital:
503.2m Shares 2.0m Options
3.8m Performance Rights
All financial figures quoted in this report are in Australian dollars and are unaudited
Gold Sales & Revenue
Production - Underground
Production - Processing
Production - Open Pit
Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX: SLR) Page 1 of 50
Quarterly Overview
Safety
Nil lost time injuries reported across the Group during the quarter.
Mount Monger Operation
Gold bullion sold for the quarter was 34,495 ounces at an average realised price of A$1,601/oz for A$55.2 million revenue.
Gold production for the quarter was 32,214 recovered ounces (Q2 38,171 ounces). Production was consistent with the completion of high grade mining at Lucky Bay in January 2016 and the commencement of the lower grade Santa Area pits. The contribution of Santa to the mill feed blend will increase significantly in Q4 FY16 as low grade and high grade ore stocks from the mine are processed until mill production from Imperial/Majestic commences in Q2 FY17.
The continued strong gold price and stable cost base resulted in operating cash flow for the quarter of A$16.0 million, contributing to the A$8.2 million increase in the Group's cash & bullion balance. The strong production and sales performance has resulted in FY16 gold sales guidance of 130,000 - 135,000 ounces.
Production
Mining (Table 1)
Ore mined from Mount Monger's underground mines totalled 114,731 tonnes at a grade of 6.1 g/t Au for 22,430 contained ounces. Daisy Complex underground mine contributed 82,590 tonnes at a grade of 6.5 g/t Au for 17,351 contained ounces whilst Cock-eyed Bob underground mine totalled 32,141 tonnes at a grade of 4.9 g/t Au for 5,079 contained ounces.
Combined underground production year to date totals 334,263 tonnes at 6.2 g/t for 66,787 ounces.
Mine production at the Lucky Bay and Santa Area open pits totalled 265,566 tonnes at 1.7 g/t Au for 14,932 contained ounces. The Lucky Bay open pit was completed in January 2016 and has been replaced by an increase in production from the Santa Area pits. Over its six-month mine life, the Lucky Bay pit produced 13,512 ounces at an average grade of 4.2g/t, exceeding budgeted production by 25%.
Combined open pit production year to date totals 37,516 ounces and production from the Santa Area pits is expected to contribute a further 20,000 - 25,000 ounces over the next 4 months.
Processing (Table 2)
Mill feed during the quarter was sourced from the Daisy Complex and Cock-eyed Bob underground mines, and the Lucky Bay and Santa Area open pits. Ore milled for the quarter totalled 318,836 tonnes at a blended grade of 3.3 g/t Au for 32,214 recovered ounces.
As forecast, surface stockpiles increased by 66,000 tonnes to ≈280,000 tonnes (containing ≈13,000 oz) at 31 March 2016. The stockpiling of ore from Santa Area is expected to continue in Q4 FY16 as the open cut waste to ore strip ratio reduces and ore mining increases.
Costs (Table 3)
Unaudited all in sustaining cost (AISC) for the quarter was A$1,254/oz (A$1,250/oz in Q2). YTD AISC continues to trend downward to A$1,272/oz as at 31 March 2016, reflecting higher grade material from the open pits replacing lower grade stockpiles fed in FY15.
Total cost expenditure reduced by 7% to A$43.4 million due to the completion of the Lucky Bay open pit at the start of the quarter.
Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX: SLR)
Page 2 of 50
Operating and development outlook
The Company's FY16 gold sales guidance is 130,000 to 135,000 oz. Imperial/Majestic Project
In March 2016 Watpac Limited was awarded the mining services contract for the Imperial/Majestic open pits. Pre-production activities for the Project commenced during the quarter with A$0.6 million incurred to date. Cash drawdown on the project will increase in Q4 FY16 as further capital expenditure is incurred and mining activities commence.
Mining is scheduled for 28 months with first ore delivery in Q1 FY17. The Project is expected to provide high grade open pit feed to the Randalls Mill in FY17, FY18 and FY19 with a target mine grade of ≈3 g/t and the recovery of 90,000 - 100,000 ounces of gold.
Cock-eyed Bob
Following the successful Cock-eyed Bob diamond drilling program completed in the September 2015 quarter which targeted 175 vertical metres between the 350RL and 175RL levels, a further 3 phases of underground diamond drilling to infill the Inferred resource to Indicated status are planned.
Phase 1 of the program will commence in Q4 FY16 and comprises 10 holes for 1,157 metres to be drilled from the 345RL level providing 20m x 20m drill spacing from the 330RL to the 280RL.
Development at Cock-eyed Bob beyond Q1 FY17 will be considered when the results of the Phase 1 drilling program are available and further development will be evaluated in conjunction with the potential development of a new Maxwells underground mine. The merits of operating both mines concurrently will be assessed by the Company with the objective of reducing AISC unit costs, increasing cash generation and minimising stockpile inventory.
Maxwells Development
The A$1.4 million accelerated RC and diamond drilling program targeting five priority mineralised areas at Maxwells announced in Q2 was completed in Q3 FY16 and continued to support the proposition that the ore shoots seen within the open pit continue well below the base of the existing open pit.
The Company expects to assess the development of an exploration and production decline at Maxwells during Q4 FY16. The development, which would commence in Q1 FY17, envisages strike development and production from the Eastern and Central BIF units, whist at the same time providing a drilling horizon from which to drill the high grade Western BIF unit directly beneath the pit floor.
A more detailed description of the exploration program completed during Q3 FY16 is described on page 9.
Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX: SLR)
|
Mount Monger Operation - Mining
|
Units
|
Sep Qtr 2015
|
Dec Qtr 2015
|
Mar Qtr 2016
|
YTD FY16
|
Full Year FY15
|
Underground - Daisy Complex
|
Ore mined
|
Tonnes
|
78,340
|
87,418
|
82,590
|
248,348
|
339,447
|
Mined grade
|
g/t Au
|
7.4
|
6.7
|
6.5
|
6.9
|
6.5
|
Contained gold in ore
|
Oz
|
18,703
|
18,969
|
17,351
|
55,023
|
71,377
|
Underground - Cock-eyed Bob
|
Ore mined
|
Tonnes
|
27,923
|
25,851
|
32,141
|
85,915
|
92,223
|
Mined grade
|
g/t Au
|
3.7
|
4.1
|
4.9
|
4.3
|
5.0
|
Contained gold in ore
|
Oz
|
3,314
|
3,371
|
5,079
|
11,764
|
14,716
|
Open Pit - Lucky Bay
|
Ore mined
|
Tonnes
|
25,629
|
46,787
|
27,606
|
100,022
|
-
|
Mined grade
|
g/t Au
|
5.4
|
3.9
|
3.5
|
4.2
|
-
|
Contained gold in ore
|
Oz
|
4,434
|
5,940
|
3,138
|
13,512
|
-
|
Open Pit - Santa Area (includes Rumbles)
|
Ore mined
|
Tonnes
|
13,968
|
193,376
|
237,960
|
445,304
|
-
|
Mined grade
|
g/t Au
|
1.5
|
1.9
|
1.5
|
1.7
|
-
|
Contained gold in ore
|
Oz
|
665
|
11,545
|
11,794
|
24,004
|
-
|
Open Pit - Wombola Dam
|
Ore mined
|
Tonnes
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
256,415
|
Mined grade
|
g/t Au
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
2.4
|
Contained gold in ore
|
Oz
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
19,384
|
Total ore mined
|
Tonnes
|
145,860
|
353,432
|
380,297
|
879,589
|
688,085
|
Mined Grade
|
g/t Au
|
5.8
|
3.5
|
3.1
|
3.7
|
4.8
|
Total contained gold in ore
|
Oz
|
27,116
|
39,825
|
37,362
|
104,303
|
105,477
|
Table 1: Mount Monger Operation - mine prod
|
uction statistics
|
Mount Monger Operations - Processing
|
Units
|
Sep Qtr 2015
|
Dec Qtr 2015
|
Mar Qtr 2016
|
YTD FY16
|
Full Year FY15
|
Ore milled
|
Tonnes
|
298,557
|
310,305
|
318,836
|
927,698
|
1,215,308
|
Head grade
|
g/t Au
|
3.2
|
4.0
|
3.3
|
3.5
|
3.3
|
Contained gold in ore
|
Oz
|
30,907
|
39,893
|
33,938
|
104,738
|
127,773
|
Recovery
|
%
|
95
|
96
|
95
|
95
|
95
|
Gold produced
|
Oz
|
29,267
|
38,171
|
32,214
|
99,652
|
121,780
|
Gold sold
|
Oz
|
30,349
|
37,191
|
34,495
|
102,035
|
121,999
|
Table 2: Mount Monger Operation - processin
|
g statistics
|
Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX: SLR)