2009-11-09 23:27:03 -
DENVER, COLORADO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/09/09 -- Golden Star Resources Ltd. (TSX: GSC)(NYSE Amex: GSS)(GSE: GSR) today announced its unaudited third quarter results. All currency in this news release is expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted. The Company will host a live webcast and conference call to discuss its quarterly results on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. ET. To access the webcast and conference call, go to the home page of the Company's website, www.gsr.com :
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Tom Mair, President and CEO, commented, "We are pleased to report another record quarter in terms of gold sales, revenues and operating cash flow. Golden Star is on track to sell over 400,000 ounces of gold in 2009. Our properties in Ghana are situated on one of the historically most prolific gold districts in the world. Consequently, our brownfields drilling programs continue to show exciting results and resource additions."
RESULTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
- Record quarterly gold sales of 107,433 ounces, a 45% increase over third quarter 2008 and a 9% increase over the second quarter of 2009;
- Gold revenues for the quarter of $103.8 million representing an increase of 62% over third quarter 2008 and an 18% increase over the second quarter 2009 revenues;
- Operating cash flow, before working capital adjustments, of $30.5 million for the third quarter of 2009 or $0.129 per share;
- Operating cash flow of $26.3 million for the third quarter of 2009 or $0.111 per share;
- Quarterly cash operating cost of $586 per ounce, a 33% improvement over third quarter 2008;
- Cash balance of $57.6 million up from $28.1 million at the end of the first quarter of 2009 and up from $43.2 million at the end of the second quarter of this year;
- Average realized gold price of $967 for the third quarter of 2009, up 12% over the realized price for the third quarter of 2008.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
SUMMARY OF CONSOLIDATED For three months ended For nine months ended
FINANCIAL RESULTS September 30, September 30,
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2009 2008 2009 2008
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Bogoso/Prestea gold sold (oz) 53,069 51,959 139,375 130,307
Wassa gold sold (oz) 54,364 22,083 164,041 79,475
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Total gold sold (oz) 107,433 74,042 303,416 209,782
Average realized price ($/oz) 967 866 934 895
Cash operating cost
--combined ($/oz) 586 871 572 750
Gold revenues ($000's) 103,804 64,099 283,317 187,713
Cash flow provided/(used)
by operations ($000's) 26,299 (2,064) 66,673 2,589
Net loss ($000's) (2,342) (22,236) (3,108) (32,583)
Net loss per share - basic ($) (0.010) (0.094) (0.013) (0.138)
BOGOSO/PRESTEA
At Bogoso/Prestea, third quarter gold sales were a record 53,069 ounces, an increase of 16% from the second quarter of 2009 and up 31% over the first quarter of this year. Ore processed was 11% higher than in the second quarter and the gold grade increased to 2.98 g/t, up from 2.66 g/t during the preceding quarter.
For three months ended For nine months ended
OPERATING RESULTS September 30, September 30,
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2009 2008 2009 2008
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Mining
Ore mined (000's t)-Refractory 751 668 2,131 2,046
Ore mined (000's t)-Non refractory - 51 - 136
Total ore mined (000's t) 751 719 2,131 2,182
Waste mined (000's t) 3,925 4,891 11,197 15,397
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Bogoso Sulfide Plant Results
Refractory ore processed
(000's t) 797 731 2,139 2,034
Refractory grade-(g/t) 2.98 2.73 2.79 2.83
Recovery-Refractory (%) 69.4 67.5 70.9 64.9
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Bogoso Oxide Plant Results
Ore processed (000's t) - 127 - 360
Ore grade-(g/t) - 2.38 - 2.38
Recovery (%) - 50.3 - 60.0
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Cash operating cost ($/oz) 704 903 710 848
Gold sold (oz) 53,069 51,959 139,375 130,307
WASSA
Gold sold from Wassa's production during the third quarter 2009 was 54,364 ounces, up 2% over the previous quarter and up 146% over the third quarter of 2008. A primary driver for this increase was greater amounts of higher grade ore from the HBB properties that is being delivered and blended with the Wassa ore.
###PRECONTENT2### EXPLORATION
In 2009, we increased our exploration budget to approximately $10 million. The majority of drilling in the third quarter of this year has been focused on resource definition drilling surrounding our operating areas. At Wassa, drills are turning on the Benso, Hwini-Butre and Chichiwelli deposits, situated along our haul road. We expect significant reserve and resource additions.
In addition to drilling at Wassa, we plan to drill deep targets at Bogoso that were identified from the VTEM geophysical survey completed in 2008. These drill holes will determine deeper ore potential at Bogoso.
Other exploration plans going forward include a soil geochemistry study at the Amelekia and Abengourou concessions in the Ivory Coast, ground geophysics at the Sonfon property, a joint venture with African Aura Mining Inc., in Sierra Leone, preliminary geological assessments for two new concessions in Burkina Faso, continuation of exploration activities at Saramacca, our joint venture with Newmont in Suriname, and continuing property evaluations and project generation in Brazil.
CASH AND CASH FLOW
At September 30, 2009, our cash and cash equivalents totaled $57.6 million compared to $43.2 million at the end of the second quarter and $28.1 million at the end of the first quarter.
Liquidity Outlook
The capital forecast for 2009 is estimated to be approximately $45 million. This includes development work at Hwini-Butre, pit development at Bogoso, deferred exploration and mine site drilling and sustaining capital for both mine sites.
LOOKING AHEAD
Our objectives for the remainder of 2009 include the following:
- Further optimization of the Bogoso sulfide processing plant to improve throughput and recovery rates and reduce costs;
- Permitting and development of the Prestea South deposits to provide oxide ore in 2010 for the Bogoso oxide processing plant; and
- Continued exploration at Bogoso/Prestea, Wassa and the HBB properties to delineate reserves and resources.
Our guidance for 2009 is as follows:
###PRECONTENT3### FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The following information is derived from the Company's unaudited consolidated financial statements contained in our Form 10-Q, which we filed with the SEC today and is available on our website.
###PRECONTENT4### COMPANY PROFILE
Golden Star holds a 90% equity interest in Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea) Limited and Golden Star (Wassa) Limited, which respectively own the Bogoso/Prestea and Wassa open-pit gold mines through subsidiaries in Ghana. In addition, Golden Star has an 81% interest in the currently inactive Prestea Underground mine in Ghana, as well as gold exploration interests elsewhere in Ghana, in other parts of West Africa and in the Guiana Shield of South America. Golden Star has approximately 237 million shares outstanding.
Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information: Some statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such statements include comments regarding planned exploration activities and drilling, including exploration at Bogoso/Prestea, Wassa, and the HBB properties; our expectations regarding increases in reserve and resource estimates; the ability to fund sustaining capital requirements; optimization of throughput and recovery rates at the Bogoso sulfide processing plant; our 2009 production and cash operating cost estimates, capital expenditure estimates, sources of and adequacy of cash to meet capital and other needs in 2009;2009 planned capital budget spending; and our 2009 objectives. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include timing of and unexpected events at the Bogoso/Prestea oxide and sulfide processing plant; variations in ore grade, tonnes mined, crushed or milled; variations in relative amounts of refractory, non-refractory and transition ores; delay or failure to receive board or government approvals and permits; the availability and cost of electrical power, timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; technical, permitting, mining or processing issues, changes in U.S. and Canadian securities markets, and fluctuations in gold price and costs and general economic conditions. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. Please refer to the discussion of these and other factors in our Form 10-K for 2008 and the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed in 2009. The forecasts contained in this press release constitute management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received and that actual results will vary from these estimates, possibly by material amounts. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event. Investors and others should not assume that any forecasts in this press release represent management's estimate as of any date other than the date of this press release.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures: in this news release, we use the terms "cash operating cost per ounce." Cash operating cost per ounce is equal to total cash costs less production royalties and production taxes, divided by the number of ounces of gold sold during the period. We use cash operating cost per ounce as a key operating indicator. We monitor this measure monthly, comparing each month's values to prior period's values to detect trends that may indicate increases or decreases in operating efficiencies. This measure is also compared against budget to alert management to trends that may cause actual results to deviate from planned operational results. We provide this measure to our investors to allow them to also monitor operational efficiencies of our mines. We calculate this measure for both individual operating units and on a consolidated basis. Cash operating cost per ounce should be considered as Non-GAAP Financial Measures as defined in SEC Regulation S-K Item 10 and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are material limitations associated with the use of such non-GAAP measures. Since this measure does not incorporate revenues, changes in working capital and non-operating cash costs, it is not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from operations as determined under GAAP. Changes in numerous factors including, but not limited to, mining rates, milling rates, gold grade, gold recovery, and the costs of labor, consumables and mine site general and administrative activities can cause these measures to increase or decrease. We believe that these measures are the same or similar to the measures of other gold mining companies, but may not be comparable to similarly titled measures in every instance.
Contacts:
Golden Star Resources Ltd.
Bruce Higson-Smith
Vice President Corporate Development
+1-800-553-8436
Golden Star Resources Ltd.
Anne Hite
Investor Relations Manager
+1-800-553-8436
www.gsr.com :
