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Alphamin Announces Interim FY2023 Dividend/ Q2 Operational and Financial Update

Published: 2023-07-24 16:00:36 ET
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                                                                                 NEWS RELEASE

C/o ADANSONIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED, Suite 1,
PERRIERI OFFICE SUITES, C2-302, Level 3, Office Block C,
La Croisette, Grand Baie 30517, Mauritius

Alphamin Resources Corp.
Continued in the Republic of Mauritius
Date of incorporation: 12 August 1981
Corporation number: C125884 C1/GBL
TSX-V share code: AFM
JSE share code: APH
ISIN: MU0456S00006
(“Alphamin” or the “Company”)




       ALPHAMIN ANNOUNCES INTERIM FY2023 DIVIDEND/ Q2 OPERATIONAL AND
                             FINANCIAL UPDATE

MAURITIUS – July 24, 2023 – Alphamin Resources Corp. (AFM:TSXV, APH:JSE
AltX)( “Alphamin” or the “Company”), a producer of 4% of the world’s mined tin1 from its high
grade operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is pleased to provide the following
update for the quarter ended June 2023:

✓ Interim dividend for FY2023 of CAD$0.03 per share declared
✓ Tin production of 3,151 tonnes for the quarter, in line with the previous period
✓ Q2 2023 EBITDA3,4 guidance of US$35.4m at a tin price of US$25,587/t (Current tin price:
  US$28,500/t)
✓ Mine expansion project to increase annual tin production by 60% progressing well




Operational and Financial Summary for the Quarter ended June 20232


                                                                Quarter ended         Quarter ended
    Description                                     Units                                                      Change
                                                                 June 2023             March 2023
    Ore Processed                                  Tonnes            99 035                95 751                 3%
    Tin Grade Processed                              % Sn              4,20                 4,38                 -4%
    Overall Plant Recovery                             %                76                   76                   0%
    Contained Tin Produced                         Tonnes             3 151                3 187                 -1%
    Contained Tin Sold                             Tonnes             3 068                3 161                 -3%
    EBITDA3,4   (Q2 2023 guidance)                 US$'000           35 400                41 391                -14%
                                                    US$/t
    AISC3, 4 (Q2 2023 guidance)                                      13 897                13 915                 0%
                                                    sold
    Average Tin Price Achieved                      US$/t            25 587                26 432                -3%

__________________________________________________________________________________________
1
 Data obtained from International Tin Association Tin Industry Review 2022 2Information is disclosed on a 100% basis. Alphamin
indirectly owns 84.14% of its operating subsidiary to which the information relates. 3Q2 2023 EBITDA and AISC represent
management’s guidance. 4This is not a standardized financial measure and may not be comparable to similar financial measures
of other issuers.See “Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures” below for the composition and calculation of this financial measure.
Operational and Financial Performance
Alphamin achieved excellent tin production of 3,151 tonnes for the quarter ended June 2023.
Year-to-date tin production of 6,338 tonnes exceeds the run-rate to achieve market guidance
of 12,000 tonnes for the year ending December 2023. The run-of-mine and crushed ore
stockpiles ahead of the processing plant were at record levels at quarter-end, being 27,439
tonnes at an average tin grade of 6,74% (Q1: 15,011 tonnes at 5,98%).

Sales volumes of 3,068 tonnes of tin, at an average tin price of US$25,587/t, were from a
timing difference less than production which impacted the quarter’s EBITDA. Guidance for
AISC per tonne of tin sold is US$13,987, in line with the previous quarter albeit sales volumes
were 3% lower. The expected EBITDA for the quarter ended June 2023 is US$35.4 million,
US$6 million below the previous quarter’s EBITDA of US$41.4 million due to the lower tin price
and delayed sales which should clear during the next quarter. The current 3-month LME tin
price is trading at ~US$28,500/t, 11% above the Q2 2023 price.

Alphamin’s unaudited consolidated financial statements and accompanying Management’s
Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended 30 June 2023 are expected to be released on
or about August 17, 2023.

Mpama South development progress

A total of 1,460m of underground development at Mpama South has been completed to date,
of which 603m was achieved in Q2 2023 (Q1: 418m). Development has accelerated during Q2
2023 as additional underground equipment has arrived on site. During July 2023, the
underground development connecting Mpama North and Mpama South has reached the
intersection point where the new Mpama South adit from surface will connect. The Mpama
South adit has intersected a 6m wide area of extremely poor ground conditions which is
delaying advancement. The adit is now expected to connect with the Mpama South
underground workings during November 2023, in time for the tramming of ore to the new
processing facility. The year-to-date development metres are in line with the Company’s
updated two-year underground mine plan to achieve the targeted tin production expansion
from FY2024. This plan requires an additional ~2,000m of underground development at
Mpama South during the six months ending December 2023, which should be achievable as
additional development ends become available from Q3 2023.

The new processing facility is progressing well. Following completion of all procurement,
design and engineering, fabrication, earthworks and substantially all civils, the focus has
moved to plant erection and tracking of steel and equipment in transit. During the quarter, the
fine tin plant structure, primary crusher structure and concentrate drying and storage building
have been erected. The gravity plant is at first floor level and the secondary crushers on third
floor level. The commissioning of the new processing plant is targeted for December 2023.

The Alphamin project team, together with the existing site team, remains focussed on
operational readiness preparation. This primarily involves recruitment and training of personnel,
expansion of the laboratory and accommodation facilities and infrastructure, and increasing
the supply chain to meet the additional production.

The Mpama South project is expected to increase annual tin production from ~12,000 tonnes
to ~20,000 tonnes.
Funding structure and capital allocation

Alphamin’s vision is to become one of the world’s largest sustainable tin producers. From a
capital allocation perspective, the Board considers the combination of investment in growth,
ongoing exploration, and a high dividend yield a robust value proposition. From a FY2023
capital allocation perspective, the funding of the Mpama South expansion project, DRC income
tax payments and shareholder distributions remain the priority.

During the quarter ended June 2023, the Company’s subsidiary paid US$56 million in final
FY2022 corporate taxes and US$11 million as the first of four instalments towards provisional
FY2023 taxes. At the current tin price, the Company does not expect a final FY2023 tax
payment to be required, which would ordinarily be due in early 2024. A US$40 million short-
term facility was secured with the Company’s banking institution in the DRC as bridging finance
towards the unusually high tax payments in 2023 (US$26 million utilised in Q2 2023).

By quarter-end, the Company had spent US$75 million cash on the Mpama South project of
which US$30 million was in Q2 2023. The project is forecast to complete within the budget of
US$116 million.

The Alphamin consolidated Net Cash position decreased by US$75 million during Q2 2023
mainly related to an aggregate of US$97 million allocated to the Mpama South development
and DRC taxes. Cash on hand amounted to US$51.4 million as at 30 June 2023.


Interim FY2023 Dividend Declared

The Board has declared an interim FY2023 cash dividend of CAD$0.03 per share on the
common shares (approximately US$29 million in the aggregate) (the “Dividend”). The Dividend
will be payable on 25 August, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on 11
August, 2023.


Holders of Alphamin shares on the JSE are referred to the separate SENS announcement
released today for further details of the Dividend.

Qualified Person

Mr. Clive Brown, Pr. Eng., B.Sc. Engineering (Mining), is a qualified person (QP) as defined in
National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical
information contained in this news release. He is a Principal Consultant and Director of Bara
Consulting Pty Limited, an independent technical consultant to the Company.
_________________________________________________________________________________________


FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Maritz Smith
CEO
Alphamin Resources Corp.
Tel: +230 269 4166
E-mail: msmith@alphaminresources.com
24 July 2023
JSE Sponsor
Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, a division of Nedbank Limited



CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Information in this news release that is not a statement of historical fact constitutes forward-
looking information. Forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation,
statements relating to expected EBITDA and AISC guidance for Q2 2023; annual production
guidance for 2023; planned production expansion resulting from Mpama South; and the timing
for commissioning of the processing plant; timing and plans regarding underground
development and the total development cost of the Mpama South project. Forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such
statements are made. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. Although Alphamin has attempted to identify important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there
may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-
looking statements include, but are not limited to: uncertainties regarding Mpama North and
Mpama South estimates of the expected mined tin grades, processing plant performance and
recoveries, uncertainties regarding the underground conditions for development, uncertainties
regarding supply chain and logistics for purposes of Mpama South equipment deliveries and
the impact on the timing thereof, uncertainties regarding global supply and demand for tin and
market and sales prices, uncertainties with respect to social, community and environmental
impacts, uninterupted access to required infrastructure and third party service providers,
adverse political and security events, uncertainties regarding the legislative requirements in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo which may result in unexpected fines and penalties,
impacts of the global Covid-19 pandemic or other health crises on mining operations and
commodity prices as well as those risk factors set out in the Company’s Management
Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure documents available under the Company’s
profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the
date of this news release and Alphamin disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise,
except as required by applicable securities laws.


Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined
in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this news release.


USE OF NON-IFRS FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES
This announcement refers to the following non-IFRS financial performance measures:

EBITDA

EBITDA is profit before net finance expense, income taxes and depreciation, depletion, and
amortization. EBITDA provides insight into our overall business performance (a combination
of cost management and growth) and is the corresponding flow driver towards the objective of
achieving industry-leading returns. This measure assists readers in understanding the ongoing
cash generating potential of the business including liquidity to fund working capital, servicing
debt, and funding capital expenditures and investment opportunities.

This measure is not recognized under IFRS as it does not have any standardized meaning
prescribed by IFRS and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented
by other issuers. EBITDA data is intended to provide additional information and should not be
considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance
with IFRS.


NET CASH

Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents less total current and non-current portions
of interest-bearing debt and lease liabilities.


AISC

This measures the costs to produce and sell a tonne of contained tin plus the capital sustaining
costs to maintain the mine, processing plant and infrastructure. AISC includes mine operating
production expenses such as mining, processing, administration, indirect charges (including
surface maintenance and camp and tailings dam construction costs), smelting costs and
deductions, refining and freight, distribution, royalties and product marketing fees and
corporate costs. AISC does not include depreciation, depletion and amortization, reclamation
expenses, borrowing costs and exploration expenses.

Sustaining capital expenditures are defined as those expenditures which do not increase
contained tin production at a mine site and excludes all expenditures at the Company’s projects
and certain expenditures at the Company’s operating sites which are deemed expansionary in
nature.