Gran Colombia Gold 1Q 2021 Profits Nearly Match 1Q 2020
Toronto-based Gran Colombia Gold (GCC) – operator of Colombia’s biggest gold mine at Segovia, Antioquia – on May 13 announced US$21.2 million in adjusted net income for first quarter (1Q) 2021, up slightly from US$21.2 million in 1Q 2020.
The year-over-year improvement in adjusted net income came mainly from existing mine operations “together with a decrease in finance costs due to the reduction in the company’s debt over the last year,” according to GCC.
In February 2021, GCC finalized a partial spin-out of its Marmato mining assets in Colombia, leaving it with a 44.3% equity stake in “Aris Gold Corporation.”
The company also added a 27.3% equity interest in Denarius Silver Corp. to its portfolio in the first quarter of 2021, “giving it exposure to the Lomero-Poyatos polymetallic deposit located in Spain, in close proximity to the Matsa JV project, and to the Guia Antigua and Zancudo Projects in Colombia,” according to GCC.
GCC gold production at Segovia totaled 49,058 ounces in 1Q 2021, down from 50,346 ounces in 1Q 2020. “The company remains on track with its annual production guidance for 2021 of 200,000 to 220,000 ounces of gold,” according to GCC.
“The company’s ongoing drilling program at Segovia continues to provide encouraging results, reaffirming confidence in the high-grade nature of the Segovia gold deposits,” according to GCC.
Consolidated revenue amounted to US$101.9 million in 1Q 2021, up slightly from US$101 million in 1Q 2020, “reflecting an increase in the company’s realized gold price to an average of $1,812 per ounce sold from $1,570 in the first quarter last year, offset by lower gold sales volume this year, which included only one month of Marmato’s operating results prior to the loss of control of Aris in early February 2021,” according to GCC.
Total cash costs at Segovia averaged $825 per ounce in 1Q 2021, “a slight improvement from $830 per ounce in the fourth quarter of 2020 and up from $604 per ounce in the first quarter of 2020,” according to GCC.
“The year-over-year increase in Segovia’s total cash cost per ounce reflects an increase in contractor and artisanal mining payment rates (which had not changed since 2017) implemented in the third quarter of 2020 in response to the current gold market conditions; higher spot gold prices which increased production taxes on a per ounce basis, and; additional costs to maintain the necessary Covid-19 protocols required to protect the health and safety of Segovia’s workers and the local communities,” according to GCC.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) dipped to $46.3 million for 1Q 2021, compared with $50.4 million in 1Q 2020.
“The company’s balance sheet remained solid with total cash of $73.6 million at the end of the first quarter of 2021. After the quarterly amortizing payments in 2021 and the early optional redemption completed on May 10, 2021, the aggregate principal amount of Gold Notes currently outstanding is $19.75 million. The company also completed a partial redemption in April 2021 of 10% of its Convertible Debentures bringing the amount outstanding down to Cdn$18 million [US$14.8 million],” GCC added.
