1.5 mn Oz of gold production untill 2022 at Yamana
Yamana Gold provides 2020, 2021 and 2022 production, and 2020 cost guidance. 2020-2022 production and cost outlook says, the guidance values noted above reflect the production mid-point within a normal range of +/- 2% for the 2020-2021 period. As guidance becomes less predictable three years out, in 2022, a greater allowance of +/- 3% is provided.
The Company expects to continue its established trend of delivering approximately 54% of production in the second half of the year compared to the first half, along with quarterly sequential increases in production.
The following table presents mine-by-mine cost of sales, cash costs, and all-in sustaining costs results in 2019 and guidance ranges for 2020. With the expected higher production weighting in the second half of the year, the Company anticipates unitary costs to also trend lower in the second half of the year in relation to the first half.
While there is a marginal increase in sustaining capital expenditures, the Company does not anticipate that it will impact margins due to the higher gold and silver price environment. The following table presents expansionary capital, sustaining capital, and total exploration results for 2019 and expectations by mine for 2020.
The Company is pursuing a generative exploration program to develop its pipeline of advanced and advancing exploration projects.
The key objectives of the program are as follows: 1: Advance one or more projects to an inferred mineral resource of at least 1.5 million ounces of gold within the next three years. 2: On a long-term basis, advance at least one project to a mineral inventory that is large enough to support a mine with annual gold production of approximately 150,000 ounces for at least eight years.
3: Advance both gold-only and copper-gold projects and, in the latter case, consider joint venture agreements aimed at increasing mineral resource and advancing the project to development while Yamana maintains an economic interest in the project.
4: The Company is budgeting $14 million in 2020, the first year of what will initially be a three-year program. The Company expects most of the remaining budget for the program to be derived from monetizations of non-cash producing assets that are currently in progress, creating an optimum balance between investing in new projects and maximizing free cash flow.
Key: gold mining, gold exploration, gold production
