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(All amounts expressed in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise stated)
Torex Gold Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Torex") (TSX:TXG) reports the Company's financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018.
Fred Stanford, President & CEO of Torex stated:
"This was an excellent quarter with record gold production of over 100,000 ounces as the Company successfully continues toward full ramp-up. Grades processed were above LOM average, recoveries above design, and plant throughput is ramping toward design levels by year end. In October, throughput averaged above 13,300 t/d, inclusive of two maintenance days to replace the liners in the ball mill.
The SART plant is operating well and delivered a $48 per ounce reduction in costs, including byproduct credits. By year-end, the SART plant is expected to be delivering a net $65 per ounce benefit and this is expected to be the performance in future years.
Sub-Sill has ramped up to approximately 500 t/d by quarter end. Subsequent to the end of the quarter the second access to the mine was connected, which will facilitate design ventilation volumes and completing the ramp-up to 850 t/d by year end. As expected, grades from the Sub-Sill are highly variable. Quarterly grade reconciliation reporting will be suspended until we have enough experience and definition drilling in this deposit to make the reconciliation meaningful. Diamond drilling on this deposit and El Limon Deep (ELD) continue, with 5 rigs deployed.
Growth and innovation also advanced in the quarter. A technical report was completed, which included an updated PEA for Media Luna. In-fill drilling also made good progress, with 5 drills now active on Media Luna, with one drill soon to be mobilized to a porphyry target. Our proprietary Muckahi Mining System was also introduced in the quarter. The first machine for this system is expected to be shipped to site in the next few weeks, for testing in the ELD area.
In conclusion, Q3 was a solid quarter with excellent progress in operating stability, and growth initiatives through exploration and innovation. We all look forward to continuing to deliver on these strategic initiatives."
This release should be read in conjunction with the Company's September 30, 2018 Financial Statements and MD&A on the Company's website or on SEDAR.
HIGHLIGHTS
Technical Report ("TR") confirms status as a producer in the lowest cost quartile
Initial results from the Media Luna in-fill diamond drilling program
Financial results
Qualified Persons
Scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dawson Proudfoot, P.Eng., Vice President, Engineering of Torex Gold Resources Inc. and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call today at 9:00 am (ET) where senior management will discuss the third quarter of 2018 operational and financial results. Access the conference call as follows:
Webcast access: A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's website at www.torexgold.com.
Telephone access: Please call the numbers below approximately ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. Toronto local or international 1 (416) 915-3239
Toll-Free (North America) 1 800-319-4610
Toll-Free (France) 0 800-900-351
Toll-Free (Switzerland) 0-800-802-457
Toll-Free (United Kingdom) 0 808-101-2791
The webcast will be archived on the Company's website.
About Torex
Torex is an intermediate gold producer based in Canada, engaged in the exploration, development and operation of its 100% owned Morelos Gold Property, an area of 29,000 hectares in the highly prospective Guerrero Gold Belt located 180 kilometers southwest of Mexico City. The Company's principal assets are the El Limon Guajes mining complex (the "ELG Mine Complex"), comprised of the El Limon, Guajes and El Limon Sur open pits, the El Limon Guajes underground mine including zones referred to as Sub-Sill and El Limon Deep, and the processing plant and related infrastructure, which is in the commercial production stage as of April 1, 2016, and the Media Luna deposit, which is an early stage development project, and for which the Company issued an updated preliminary economic assessment in September 2018. The property remains 75% unexplored.
For further information, please contact:
TOREX GOLD RESOURCES INC.
Fred Stanford Gabriela Sanchez
President and CEO Vice President Investor Relations
Tel.: (647) 260-1502 Tel.: (647) 260-1503
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
CAUTIONARY NOTES
PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
A preliminary economic assessment should not be considered a prefeasibility study or feasibility study, as the economics and technical viability of the Media Luna Project have not been demonstrated at this time. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred mineral resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Furthermore, there is no certainty that the conclusions or results as reported in the Media Luna PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The Media Luna PEA includes information on Muckahi. It is important to note that Muckahi is experimental in nature and has not been tested in an operating mine. Many aspects of the system are conceptual, and proof of concept has not been demonstrated. Drill and blast fundamentals, standards and best practices for underground hard rock mining are applied in the Muckahi, where applicable. The proposed application of a monorail system for underground transportation for mine development and production mining is unique to underground hard rock mining. There are existing underground hard rock mines that use a monorail system for transportation of materials and equipment, however not in the capacity described in the TR. Aspects of Muckahi mining equipment are currently in the design stage. The mine design, equipment performance and cost estimations are conceptual in nature, and do not demonstrate technical or economic viability. The approximate timeframe to develop and test the c oncept would be approximately two years (approx. second quarter 2020) for the mine development activities and up to five years for the mine production activities (approx. second quarter 2023). Further studies would be required to verify the viability of Muckahi. Muckahi is not intended as a "trade off study" but is shown to merely demonstrate the potential benefits Muckahi may have using the Media Luna deposit as an example. It includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Notwithstanding the Company's efforts, there can be no guarantee that the Company will not face unforeseen delays or further disruptions of its operations. Forward-looking information also includes, but is not limited to, the results of the Media Luna PEA, the Company will achieve the full year guidance as initially released, the expected successful completion of the ramp-up, including, the ramp-up of the processing plant to consistently produce at design rates by year-end and the ramp up of Sub-Sill ore production, completing the commissioning and ramp up of the SART plant and achieving the expected net benefits (including cost reductions), the completion and timing of the drilling program on Media Luna, including the porphyry target, the expected potential for the in-fill drilling program on the Media Luna Project to con firm the earlier results based in the in-fill drilling results to-date, plans to further examine the potential of the new mining technology (Muckahi) including the expected timing and completion of the testing of the first prototype and the testing of the completed system, projected annual gold production, and continued safety and security. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or "potential" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, without limitation, uncertainty as a result of the preliminary nature of the PEA and the Company's ability to realize the results of the PEA, uncertainty regarding the inclusion of inferred mineral resources in the mineral resource estimate, uncertainty involving resource estimates and the ability to extract those resources economically, or at all, risks associated with skarn deposits, uncertainty involving drilling programs and the Company's ability to upgrade existing resource estimates, the regulatory process and actions, the success of the Muckahi mining system, ability to finance the Media Luna Project on reasonable terms, and those risk factors identified in the TR and the Company's annual information form and management's discussion and analysis. Forward-looking information are based on the assumptions discussed in the TR and such other reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date such statements are made. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
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A preliminary economic assessment should not be considered a prefeasibility study or feasibility study, as the economics and technical viability of the Media Luna Project have not been demonstrated at this time. The Media Lunas PEA (as defined in this MD&A) is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred mineral resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Furthermore, there is no certainty that the conclusions or results as reported in the Media Luna PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Media Luna PEA includes information on Muckahi. It is important to note that Muckahi is experimental in nature and has not been tested in an operating mine. Many asp ects of the systems are conceptual, and proof of concept has not been demonstrated.
For more information on the drill results, see the Company's news release titles "Torex Reports Initial Results from the Media Luna In-fill Diamond Drilling Program" issued on October 25, 2018, and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.torexgold.com.
Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures" in the Company's Q3 2018 Management's Discussion and Analysis for further information and a detailed reconciliation.
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