Q4 2024 Production Report
____________________________________________________________________________________
22 January 2025
Production Report for the 12 months ended 31 December 2024
Eduardo Landin, Chief Executive Officer said:
"I am proud of our operational teams for delivering another strong performance in Q4 and therefore successfully meeting our full year production guidance once again. The new Mara Rosa mine had a full quarter of operations, and, in Peru, Inmaculada continued to outperform expectations. Additionally, our acquisition of the Monte do Carmo project in Brazil is another significant step forward in our portfolio's development, and we are excited for the low-cost growth opportunity it offers going forward. Our brownfield team has had an exceptional year, delivering a number of exciting opportunities in the areas surrounding our existing assets and we will provide more information on the resulting resource additions in our Full Year Results announcement in March. We look forward to another successful year as we continue executing our growth strategy."
Operational highlights
§ Full year attributable production[1]
o 245,013 ounces of gold (2023: 186,091 ounces)
o 8.5 million ounces of silver (2023: 9.5 million ounces)
o 347,374 gold equivalent ounces in line with guidance (2023: 300,749 gold equivalent ounces)
o 28.8 million silver equivalent ounces (2023: 25.0 million silver equivalent ounces)
Project & Exploration highlights
§ 2024 Brownfield drilling programme expected to add substantial resources at all operating units
§ Acquisition completed of the Monte Do Carmo project for total phased payments of $60 million ($45 million already paid)
Financial position
§ Total cash of approximately $97 million as at 31 December 2024 ($89 million as at 31 December 2023)
§ Net debt reduced to approximately $216 million as at 31 December 2024 ($252 million as at 31 December 2023)
§ Current Net Debt/LTM EBITDA reduced to approximately 0.51x as at 31 December 2024
§ New green loan arranged to restructure existing debt and increase financial flexibility
2024 ESG highlights
§ Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate of 1.25 (FY 2023: 0.99)[2]
§ Accident Severity Index of 365 (FY 2023: 37)[3]
§ Water Consumption of 138lt/person/day (FY 2023: 163lt/person/day)
§ Domestic waste generation of 0.93 kg/person/day (FY 2023: 0.93kg/person/day)
§ ECO score of 5.58 out of 6 (FY 2023: 5.76)[4]
2025 Guidance
§ Overall production target:
o 350,000-378,000 gold equivalent ounces
o New Mara Rosa mine set to produce 94,000-104,000 ounces of gold
§ All-in sustaining cost target:
o $1,587-$1,687 per gold equivalent ounce
§ Total sustaining and development capital expenditure expected to be approximately $169-180 million
§ Brownfield exploration budget of $36 million
________________________________________________________________________________________
A conference call will be held at 2.00pm (London time) on Wednesday 22 January 2025 for analysts and investors.
Dial in details as follows:
UK Toll-Free: 0808 109 0700
International Dial in: +44 (0)330 551 0200
US Toll-Free: 866-580-3963
Canada Toll-Free: 866-378-3566
Password: Hochschild Q4 Results
A recording of the conference call will be available on demand on the Company's website: www.hochschildmining.com
________________________________________________________________________________________
Overview
In Q4 2024, Hochschild Mining PLC (HOC.LN) (OTCMKTS: $HCHDF) ("Hochschild" or "the Company") delivered attributable production of 98,255 gold equivalent ounces or 8.2 million silver equivalent ounces, slightly stronger than Q3. Overall, 2024 attributable production was 347,374 gold equivalent ounces or 28.8 million silver equivalent ounces. The results are in line with guidance, partly due to a better-than-forecast performance at Inmaculada.
The Company expects its all-in sustaining cost for 2024 to be above guidance of between $1,510-1,550 per gold equivalent ounce ($18.0-19.0 per silver equivalent ounce) by between 5% to 10% due to the slower-than-expected ramp-up at Mara Rosa and higher-than-forecast inflation in Argentina.
TOTAL GROUP PRODUCTION
|
|
Q4 2024 |
Q3 2024 |
Q4 2023 |
12 mths |
12 mths |
|
Silver production (koz) |
2,855 |
2,658 |
3,086 |
10,530 |
11,683 |
|
Gold production (koz) |
82.83 |
78.15 |
64.41 |
281.14 |
225.77 |
|
Total silver equivalent (koz) |
9,730 |
9,145 |
8,432 |
33,864 |
30,423 |
|
Total gold equivalent (koz) |
117.23 |
110.18 |
101.59 |
408.00 |
366.54 |
|
Silver sold (koz) |
2,842 |
2,688 |
3,231 |
10,643 |
11,547 |
|
Gold sold (koz) |
82.94 |
80.27 |
68.14 |
281.46 |
221.40 |
Total production includes 100% of all production, including production attributable to Hochschild's joint venture partner at San Jose.
ATTRIBUTABLE GROUP PRODUCTION
|
|
Q4 2024 |
Q3 2024 |
Q4 2023 |
12 mths |
12 mths |
|
Silver production (koz) |
2,240 |
2,185 |
2,450 |
8,496 |
9,517 |
|
Gold production (koz) |
71.27 |
70.00 |
52.73 |
245.01 |
186.09 |
|
Silver equivalent (koz) |
8,155 |
7,995 |
6,827 |
28,832 |
24,962 |
|
Gold equivalent (koz) |
98.25 |
96.33 |
82.25 |
347.37 |
300.75 |
Attributable production includes 100% of all production from Inmaculada, Mara Rosa and 51% from San Jose.
Production
Inmaculada
|
Product |
Q4 2024 |
Q3 2024 |
Q4 2023 |
12 mths |
12 mths |
|
Ore production (tonnes treated) |
342,014 |
318,178 |
301,127 |
1,197,965 |
1,137,109 |
|
Average grade silver (g/t) |
160 |
181 |
186 |
179 |
177 |
|
Average grade gold (g/t) |
3.29 |
3.95 |
4.63 |
3.90 |
4.09 |
|
Silver produced (koz) |
1,589 |
1,693 |
1,500 |
6,368 |
5,515 |
|
Gold produced (koz) |
33.70 |
37.76 |
39.35 |
143.78 |
137.40 |
|
Silver equivalent (koz) |
4,385 |
4,827 |
4,766 |
18,302 |
16,919 |
|
Gold equivalent (koz) |
52.84 |
58.16 |
57.42 |
220.50 |
203.85 |
|
Silver sold (koz) |
1,583 |
1,726 |
1,587 |
6,342 |
5,488 |
|
Gold sold (koz) |
33.71 |
38.74 |
41.95 |
143.64 |
136.66 |
Fourth quarter production at Inmaculada was 33,696 ounces of gold and 1.6 million ounces of silver, which amounts to a gold equivalent output of 52,837 ounces, with higher treated tonnage offsetting lower grades. Overall, in 2024, Inmaculada has delivered gold equivalent production of 220,501 ounces (2023: 203,849 ounces), which is above expectations and 8% higher than the 2023 result which was impacted by permit delays.
San Jose (the Company has a 51% interest in San Jose)
|
Product |
Q4 2024 |
Q3 2024 |
Q4 2023 |
12 mths |
12 mths |
|
Ore production (tonnes treated) |
160,097 |
152,352 |
154,308 |
581,303 |
579,100 |
|
Average grade silver (g/t) |
275 |
227 |
297 |
253 |
270 |
|
Average grade gold (g/t) |
5.26 |
3.94 |
5.51 |
4.55 |
5.03 |
|
Silver produced (koz) |
1,256 |
965 |
1,297 |
4,150 |
4,422 |
|
Gold produced (koz) |
23.61 |
16.63 |
23.84 |
73.73 |
80.99 |
|
Silver equivalent (koz) |
3,215 |
2,346 |
3,276 |
10,270 |
11,144 |
|
Gold equivalent (koz) |
38.73 |
28.26 |
39.47 |
123.73 |
134.26 |
|
Silver sold (koz) |
1,254 |
957 |
1,339 |
74.37 |
4,274 |
|
Gold sold (koz) |
23.27 |
15.81 |
24.54 |
4,290 |
77.23 |
In Q4, the San Jose mine delivered higher-than-expected tonnage and gold grades resulting in production of 1.3 million ounces of silver and 23,605 ounces of gold, which represents 3.2 million silver equivalent ounces. This amounts to a 2024 total production of 10.3 million silver equivalent ounces (2023: 11.1 million ounces), which is moderately higher than guidance.
Mara Rosa
|
Product |
Q4 2024 |
Q3 2024 |
Q4 2023 |
12 mths |
12 mths |
|
Ore production (tonnes treated) |
615,759 |
589,452 |
- |
1,757,955 |
- |
|
Average grade silver (g/t) |
- |
- |
- |
0 |
- |
|
Average grade gold (g/t) |
1.42 |
1.34 |
- |
1.35 |
- |
|
Silver produced (koz) |
11 |
- |
- |
11 |
- |
|
Gold produced (koz) |
25.53 |
23.75 |
- |
63.64 |
- |
|
Silver equivalent (koz) |
2,130 |
1,971 |
- |
5,293 |
- |
|
Gold equivalent (koz) |
25.66 |
23.75 |
- |
63.77 |
- |
|
Silver sold (koz) |
4.19 |
5.19 |
- |
63.54 |
- |
|
Gold sold (koz) |
25.97 |
25.73 |
- |
11.40 |
- |
The Mara Rosa mine continued to increase production throughout Q4 and delivered 25,530 ounces of gold with both tonnage and grades improving versus Q3. Overall production in 2024 was 63,770 gold equivalent ounces which is below original guidance due to the slower-than-expected ramp-up of the mine in the second and third quarters.
Average realisable prices and sales
Average realisable precious metal prices in Q4 2024 (which are reported before the deduction of commercial discounts) were $2,464/ounce for gold and $30.7/ounce for silver (Q4 2023: $2,036/ounce for gold and $23.7/ounce for silver).
For 2024 as a whole, average realisable precious metal prices were $2,345/ounce for gold and $28.7/ounce for silver (2023: $1,974/ounce for gold and $23.7/ounce for silver).
Brownfield exploration
Inmaculada
In Q4 2024, the Company performed 1,525m of resource drilling in the Tesoro and Andrea structures as well as just over 9,000m of potential drilling in the Kary, Laura, Keyla, Pucu Pucu, Sara, Eduardo and Huarmapata structures with the key results below:
|
Vein |
Results (resource drilling) |
|
Tesoro |
IMM24-385: 23.6m @ 21.4g/t Au & 589g/t Ag IMM24-387A: 1.7m @ 4.2g/t Au & 193g/t Ag IMM24-393B: 8.5m @ 2.4g/t Au & 24g/t Ag IMS24-232: 1.5m @ 0.6g/t Au & 63g/t Ag IMS24-233: 8.4m @ 6.9g/t Au & 485g/t Ag IMS24-234: 1.7m @ 0.8g/t Au & 145g/t Ag IMS24-238A: 9.8m @ 7.5g/t Au & 64g/t Ag IMS24-239: 18.5m @ 10.2g/t Au & 399g/t Ag IMS24-241: 1.7m @ 1.0g/t Au & 44g/t Ag IMS24-246A: 1.6m @ 5.1g/t Au & 119g/t Ag IMM24-397B: 2.9m @ 14.1g/t Au & 806g/t Ag IMM24-401A: 1.3m @ 2.0g/t Au & 117g/t Ag |
|
Tesoro Techo |
IMM24-397B: 2.0m @ 16.3g/t Au & 92g/t Ag IMM24-401A: 1.4m @ 0.8g/t Au & 56g/t Ag |
|
Andrea |
IMM24-397: 1.3m @ 1.5g/t Au & 142g/t Ag IMS24-259: 1.1m @ 3.5g/t Au & 97g/t Ag IMS24-264: 2.2m @ 1.5g/t Au & 97g/t Ag |
|
Vein |
Results (potential drilling) |
|
Kary |
IMS24-260A: 6.2m @ 1.2g/t Au & 48g/t Ag including: 1.7m @ 3.0g/t Au & 97g/t Ag including: 1.3m @ 0.5g/t Au & 87g/t Ag |
|
Keyla |
IMS24-271: 8.1m @ 0.3g/t Au & 49g/t Ag including: 1.1m @ 0.6g/t Au & 151g/t Ag |
|
Pucu Pucu |
IMS24-251A: 1.1m @ 1.9g/t Au & 3g/t Ag |
|
Sara |
IMM24-416: 1.2m @ 4.5g/t Au & 20g/t Ag |
In the first quarter of 2025, the team is planning 7,500m of potential drilling to conclude the exploration of the Eduardo, Kary, Tesoro, Bárbara N and Keyla veins as well as starting drilling of the area to the south of the Divina and Lucy veins.
Pallancata
In the fourth quarter, 2,858m were drilled in the Marco 24, Hanna, Larry and 1,359m of potential drilling in the Marco 24 vein extension and Pablo W vein with the results below:
|
Vein |
Results (potential drilling) |
|
Marco 24 |
DLRY-A17: 2.1m @ 1.2g/t Au & 400g/t Ag DLRY-A22: 2.0m @ 0.8g/t Au & 333g/t Ag DLRY-A23: 4.1m @ 0.7g/t Au & 267g/t Ag DLRY-A27: 10.0m @ 2.0g/t Au & 501g/t Ag DLRY-A30: 1.3m @ 0.4g/t Au & 94g/t Ag DLRY-A31: 3.2m @ 1.4g/t Au & 400g/t Ag DLRY-A32: 9.1m @ 1.7g/t Au & 409g/t Ag DLRY-A34: 27.2m @ 1.8g/t Au & 455g/t Ag DLRY-A62: 1.4m @ 0.8g/t Au & 246g/t Ag |
|
Hanna |
DLRY-A22: 0.8m @ 0.5g/t Au & 134g/t Ag DLRY-A23: 0.7m @ 0.4g/t Au & 94g/t Ag DLRY-A24: 3.0m @ 1.5g/t Au & 459g/t Ag DLRY-A27: 1.0m @ 0.2g/t Au & 72g/t Ag DLRY-A32: 0.7m @ 0.7g/t Au & 275g/t Ag DLRY-A62: 1.8m @ 0.6g/t Au & 172g/t Ag |
|
Larry |
DLRY-A17: 1.0m @ 1.7g/t Au & 403g/t Ag DLRY-A31: 0.7m @ 0.9g/t Au & 244g/t Ag DLRY-A32: 0.9m @ 0.6g/t Au & 131g/t Ag DLRY-A34: 0.9m @ 1.4g/t Au & 386g/t Ag DLRY-A62: 1.2m @ 0.8g/t Au & 244g/t Ag PST-22: 1.0m @ 0.7g/t Au & 190g/t Ag |
In the first quarter of 2025, the programme is for potential drilling to continue in the Marco 25, Hanna, NS and Pablo W veins with work set to begin in March.
San Jose
At San Jose, the brownfield team carried out 9,408m of potential drilling in the Frea, Ramal Frea, Olivia, Emilia, Odin and Sigmoide. Odin veins.
|
Vein |
Results (potential) |
|
Ramal Frea |
SJD-1601: 3.5m @ 7.2g/t Au & 180g/t Ag |
|
Odin |
SJD-2904: 1.1m @ 2.1g/t Au & 308g/t Ag |
|
SIG. Odin |
SJD-2904: 2.0m @ 16.1g/t Au & 1,007g/t Ag |
|
Frea |
SJD-2905: 6.2m @ 4.2g/t Au & 26g/t Ag SJM-698: 0.8m @ 8.3g/t Au & 55g/t Ag |
|
Olivia |
SJD-2916: 1.8m @ 5.6g/t Au & 1,402g/t Ag SJD-2916: 1.5m @ 3.1g/t Au & 99g/t Ag |
|
Emilia |
SJM-697: 0.8m @ 4.5g/t Au & 261g/t Ag |
The plan for the first quarter is to perform potential drilling at San Jose in the Kospi West, Frea South and Odin South veins.
Mara Rosa
At Mara Rosa, the brownfield team carried out 173m of resource drilling and 2,999m of potential drilling below the main Posse pit.
|
Vein |
Results (resources/potential) |
|
Posse Deep (resources) |
24POSP_006: 40.3m @ 0.6g/t Au 24POSP_007: 40.7m @ 0.6g/t Au |
|
Posse Deep (potential) |
24POSP_002: 2.1m @ 0.8g/t Au 24POSP_010: 2.3m @ 0.1g/t Au 24POSP_010: 13.1m @ 0.2g/t Au |
The plan for the first quarter is to perform potential drilling between the Posse and Pastinho zones.
Financial position
Total cash was approximately $97 million as at 31 December 2024, resulting in net debt of approximately $216 million.
During the quarter, the Company restructured its existing financial debt and now has access to a new $300 million unsecured medium-term facility on improved terms which is being used to repay shorter duration existing loans, whilst providing financial flexibility to execute its growth strategy. Currently, only $30 million has been drawn down of the new facility.
Terms
§ Lenders: BBVA and Scotiabank
§ Term & Interest Rate: Five-year facility with three-year grace period at 3-month SOFR +1.95%
§ Two-year availability period
§ No prepayment penalties
§ Structured as a green loan with performance of three environmental key performance indicators resulting in a rate adjustment:
o Freshwater consumption intensity
o Percentage of recycled waste
o Lost Time Accident rate per million hours worked
As of December 2024, total debt of approximately $310 million was composed of existing medium term green loan facility ($200 million) with amortisations between 2025 and 2027, the new medium term green loan facility ($30 million) with amortisations between 2028 and 2029 and short-term borrowings ($80 million).
2025 Guidance
The overall attributable production target for the year is 350,000-378,000 gold equivalent ounces.[5]
2025 production split
|
Operation |
Oz Au Eq |
|
Inmaculada |
199,000-209,000 |
|
Mara Rosa |
94,000-104,000 |
|
San Jose (51%) |
57,000-65,000 |
|
Total |
350,000-378,000 |
The all-in sustaining cost from operations in 2025 is expected to be between $1,587 and $1,687 per gold equivalent ounce.
2025 AISC split
|
Operation |
$/oz Au Eq |
|
Inmaculada |
1,605-1,705 |
|
Mara Rosa |
1,287-1,370 |
|
San Jose |
2,007-2,135 |
|
Total from operations |
1,587-1,687 |
The capital expenditure budget for 2025 is approximately $169-180 million allocated to sustaining and development expenditure. The project capital expenditure budget for Monte do Carmo is set at $19 million and Royropata at $9 million. The budget allocated to the brownfield exploration programme for 2025 is $36 million.
2025 Capital expenditure split
|
Operation |
Sustaining & development capital expenditure ($m) |
|
Inmaculada |
120-127 |
|
Mara Rosa |
11-12 |
|
San Jose (100%) |
38-41 |
|
Total |
169-180 |
____________________________________________________________________________________
Enquiries:
Hochschild Mining PLC
Charles Gordon +44 (0)20 3709 3264
Head of Investor Relations
Hudson Sandler
Charlie Jack +44 (0)207 796 4133
Public Relations
_____________________________________________________________________________________
About Hochschild Mining PLC
Hochschild Mining PLC is a leading precious metals company listed on the London Stock Exchange (HOCM.L / HOC LN) and crosstrades on the OTCQX Best Market in the U.S. (HCHDF), with a primary focus on the exploration, mining, processing and sale of silver and gold. Hochschild has over fifty years' experience in the mining of precious metal epithermal vein deposits and operates two underground epithermal vein mines: Inmaculada, located in southern Peru; and San Jose in southern Argentina, and an open pit gold mine, Mara Rosa, located in the state of Goiás, Brazil. Hochschild also has numerous long-term projects throughout the Americas.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Forward looking statements
This announcement may contain forward looking statements. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will or may occur in the future. Actual results, performance or achievements of Hochschild Mining PLC may, for various reasons, be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements.
The forward looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this announcement. Except as required by the Listing Rules and applicable law, the Board of Hochschild Mining PLC does not undertake any obligation to update or change any forward looking statements to reflect events occurring after the date of this announcement. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.
This announcement contains information which prior to its release could be considered inside information.
LEI: 549300JK10TVQ3CCJQ89
- ends -
[1]2024 equivalent figures calculated using the Company gold/silver ratio of 83x. All 2025 forecasts assume the same gold/silver ratio of 83x.
[2]Calculated as total number of accidents per million labour hours
[3]Calculated as total number of days lost per million labour hours.
[4]The ECO Score is an internally designed Key Performance Indicator measuring environmental performance in one number and encompassing numerous fronts including management of waste water, outcome of regulatory inspections and sound environmental practices relating to water consumption and the recycling of materials.
[5]All forecast equivalent figures assume a gold/silver ratio of 83x.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
COMPANIES COVERED:
Latest directors dealings
- 46 minutes ago LondonMetric Property
- 1 hour ago Liontrust Asset Management
- 1 hour ago Liontrust Asset Management
- 1 hour ago Mineral & Financial Investments Limited (DI)
- 1 hour ago Marshalls