Operations
Record
quarterly production of 1,989,400 wmt of high-grade 66.2% Fe iron ore
concentrate compared to 1,542,900 wmt in the same period of the prior
year.
Focus
to improve short-term mine and plant capacity and reliability to maximize
operating cash flows during periods of elevated iron ore prices.
Record
quarterly recovery of 82.1%, setting a new historical record since Bloom
Lake was first commissioned in 2010.
Total
cash cost1 of $54.3/dmt sold (Cl) and an all-in sustaining cost1 ("AISC")
of $62.8/dmt sold during the first quarter compared to $55.0/dmt and
$59.9/dmt, respectively, in the same period of the prior year.
Financial
Net
income of $74.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 compared to
$20.7 million in the same period of the prior year.
Attributable
earnings per share ("EPS") of $0.09 for the quarter ended June
30, 2019 compared to $0.03 in the same period of the prior year. EPS was
affected by non-cash derivative financial instruments revaluation. By
excluding this item, EPS would have been $0.14.
Revenues
of $277.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 compared to $150.7
million during the same period of the prior year.
Cash
flow from operations after working capital totaling $91.9 million for the
quarter ended June 30, 2019, compared to $46.7 million for the same period
of the prior year.
Operational Performance
During
the three-month period ended June 30, 2019, 8.7 million tonnes of material
were mined, representing an increase of 8% compared to the same quarter of
the prior year. This increase reflects higher mining equipment
availability and a higher utilization rate, attributable to the Company's
progress with its mining equipment rebuilding program.
The
plant processed 4,780,000 tonnes of ore during the first quarter compared
to 4,224,000 tonnes in the same quarter last year. The positive variation
of 13% relates to higher average hourly mill throughput further to the
implementation of operational improvements designed to increase plant
capacity and reliability. The higher throughput was offset by the major
planned shutdown during the period.
The
Company achieved an average recovery rate over 82.1% during the first
quarter compared to 77.1% in the same period of the prior year. The
improvement period over period relates to the continuous optimization of
the recovery circuit which translated in a record monthly recovery of
84.6% in June 2019 from a 32.1% Fe head grade. The quarterly and monthly
recovery rates achieved during the period set a new historical record
since Bloom Lake was first commissioned in 2010.
Based
on the foregoing, Champion produced 1,989,400 wmt of 66.2% Fe high-grade
iron ore concentrate during the three-month period ended June 30, 2019
compared to 1,542,900 wmt in the same period of the prior year.
Production,
hourly mill throughput and recovery rate reached record levels during the
quarter, despite the second major planned shutdown since commercial
production resumed.
Related Link: Official
Document
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