Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
1 Mar 2010drilling result▲ GoodMajor
Yamana set out a plan to raise El Peñón (Chile) output to at least 450,000-500,000 gold-equivalent ounces a year, by lifting plant capacity from 4,300 to 5,000 tonnes a day by 2012 and adding ore from other sources such as Amancaya (inferred 351,000 oz). It also reported a new high-grade vein discovery, Pampa Augusta Victoria, 30 km north of the mine, where 21 drill holes show e.g. 2 m at 54.40 g/t gold and 5,575 g/t silver. 2010 production is planned at about 400,000-420,000 GEO, with US$18.4M budgeted for exploration. This continues the El Peñón thread, whose earlier target was 500,000 GEO a year; the drilling results are not reserves or resources. The release also says El Peñón was not meaningfully affected by the Feb 27 Chile earthquake, while Minera Florida needs repairs and a power source.
Yamana made a formal construction decision on Ernesto/Pau-a-Pique (Brazil), resolving the year-end 2009 decision thread: capital about US$116 million (up from about US$86 million in the February 2009 scoping study), about 100,000 oz a year, cash cost US$427, about seven-year initial life, after-tax IRR about 31%, with construction expected mid-2010 and production late 2012. It also gave an Agua Rica (Argentina) update: a new optimization study estimates capital of about US$2.1 billion, a 26.5-year mine life, and NPV above US$1.2 billion with IRR about 15% at US$2.25 copper and US$950 gold, with a formal construction decision expected before end-2011 and a strategic partnership still being evaluated. These are study estimates.
Yamana reported 2009 exploration discoveries and set a 2010 exploration budget of about US$75-80 million. New zones include Suruca at Chapada (hole SU-11: 81.0 m at 1.2 g/t gold), Lagoa do Gato at Fazenda Brasileiro (e.g. 22.0 m at 5.50 g/t), Lagartixa at Jacobina (3 m at 6.03 g/t), Salamanca near Gualcamayo, and Centenario and Polvorin at Minera Florida; Caiamar (Brazil) resource estimate is targeted by mid-2010. These are drilling results, not reserves or resources, and the excerpt is truncated.
Yamana filed the legal paperwork for the December 22 financing: a material change report, a credit agreement dated December 16, 2009 (The Bank of Nova Scotia as administrative agent, with a syndicate of lenders), and a note purchase agreement dated December 18, 2009 for US$270 million of senior notes in three series (5.53% due 2014, 6.45% due 2016, 6.97% due 2019). This documents the facility and notes announced December 22; the excerpt is truncated, so covenants and other terms are not seen.
Yamana raised its revolving credit facility to US$680 million from US$500 million (arranged by Scotia Capital and RBS Securities) and closed a US$270 million private offering of unsecured fixed-rate notes (weighted average maturity about 9 years, coupon 6.75%). The note proceeds will repay its existing term loan and reduce the revolver, and the company says its drawn credit is unchanged and it has over US$500 million of cash and undrawn credit available.
Yamana declared its fourth-quarter dividend of US$0.01 per share, payable January 14, 2010 to holders of record on December 31, 2009. The amount is unchanged and continues the quarterly schedule begun in 2009.
Yamana held the official inauguration of the Gualcamayo mine, following the commercial production declared in July, and gave drilling results from Salamanca, about 10 km north (e.g. 89.15 m at 1.63 g/t gold in hole 09S-09), with a resource estimate planned for the first half of 2010. It says a QDD Lower West feasibility update is expected in 2010, and gives Gualcamayo 2009 production of more than 120,000 oz, which differs from the roughly 75,000 oz of commercial production cited in July (the filing does not explain the difference; it may reflect total versus commercial-period output, which is an inference). These are drilling results, not reserves.
Yamana declared its third-quarter dividend of US$0.01 per share, payable October 14, 2009 to holders of record on September 30, 2009. The amount is unchanged and continues the quarterly schedule.
Yamana added Alex Davidson (formerly of Barrick) to its board, promoted Ludovico Costa to president (remaining COO) and Charles Main to executive vice president, finance and CFO; Antenor Silva, formerly president, has retired from management under a planned succession. It also declared commercial production at São Vicente effective September 1, 2009, noting the mine has been sold, subject to regulatory approvals, with Yamana managing it in the meantime. This continues the Aura sale announced in June.
Yamana declared commercial production at Gualcamayo (Argentina) effective July 1, 2009, with about 24,000 oz produced in Q2 and about 75,000 oz expected for commercial production in 2009. It also made construction decisions for C1 Santa Luz (Brazil; capex US$143M, 104,000 oz/yr, production mid-2012, after-tax IRR 27.9%) and Mercedes (Mexico; the February 2009 study figures, production targeted late 2012 with permitting expected mid-2010). This resolves the open Gualcamayo start-up thread and the Mercedes decision that was due by Q1 2010, though C1 Santa Luz production moves from early 2010 to mid-2012 and its capex rises from US$139M to US$143M. Ernesto/Pau-a-Pique's formal decision is expected by year-end; the excerpt is truncated, so Minera Florida and other details are not seen.
Yamana declared a second-quarter dividend of US$0.01 per share, payable July 14, 2009 to holders of record on June 30, 2009. The amount is unchanged, but it is now described as quarterly rather than the monthly payments declared through December 2008.
10 June 2009asset acquisition disposition● NeutralMajor
Yamana agreed to sell three mines it calls non-core, San Andrés (Honduras) and São Francisco and São Vicente (Brazil), to Aura Minerals for an initial price of about US$200 million: roughly US$90 million cash, US$70 million deferred cash and US$40 million in Aura shares (issued at C$0.40). San Andrés is expected to close July 23, 2009 for about US$74 million, the other two by year-end, and Yamana keeps a royalty worth up to US$40 million, with payments possibly from 2012. The deal still needs definitive documents and Aura raising the cash portion.
Yamana filed a Scott Wilson RPA technical report (dated March 30, 2009) on the Jacobina mine in Bahia, Brazil, with data as at December 31, 2008. It reports 35.5 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources at about 2.66 g/t gold and 25.2 million tonnes of inferred at about 2.2 g/t, plus 19.5 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves at 2.23 g/t. Jacobina produced 73,240 oz of gold in 2008, and the plan is to mine about 1.8 million tonnes a year from 2009 to 2019, falling in 2017 for lack of working areas. The auditors found their own check estimates in acceptable agreement with Yamana's and the reserves NI 43-101 compliant.
Yamana filed updated NI 43-101 technical reports on Gualcamayo (Argentina, dated February 27, 2009) and Chapada (Brazil, effective February 19, 2009). The Gualcamayo report describes QDD Upper (open pit), the AIM deposits and the QDD Lower West underground zone, which it says is at a recently approved feasibility stage; it includes economic analysis for shrinkage and front-caving mining options. The excerpt shown is mainly the table of contents and summary introduction, so the specific resource, reserve and cost figures cannot be stated here.
Yamana reported proven and probable gold reserves of 19.4 million oz at December 31, 2008, up from 17.9 million oz a year earlier (net up about 1.5 million oz, or 8%), and measured and indicated resources of 15.7 million oz, up 22% from 12.9 million oz. The reserve gain is mainly from Mercedes (over 600,000 oz) and Gualcamayo (net over 1.1 million oz), after about 0.95 million oz mined and 0.1 million oz removed for the Rossi disposition. The company also states a 2009 goal of 1.35 million GEO and a minimum US$56 million exploration budget.
Yamana released a pre-feasibility study for Mercedes (Mexico) and a scoping study for Ernesto/Pau-a-Pique (Brazil). Mercedes has probable reserves of 2.65 million tonnes at 7.58 g/t gold equivalent (645,000 GEO) and indicated resources of 705,000 GEO; the study estimates capital of about US$152 million, cash costs of $264 per GEO, about 118,000 GEO a year for roughly six years, and an after-tax NPV (5%) of US$72.7 million with a 22.4% IRR. Production is expected by 2012 if a construction decision is made by Q1 2010. Ernesto/Pau-a-Pique has indicated resources of 593,000 oz and inferred resources of 305,000 oz of gold, capital of about US$86 million, about 100,000 oz a year at roughly US$356 cash cost, NPV US$138 million and IRR 38%; a feasibility study is targeted for the end of 2009 with production in 2012. This follows through on the earlier Mercedes pledge of a feasibility-level study by end-2008, but what was delivered is a pre-feasibility study, and the company's 1 million oz Mercedes goal is now stated as a target to reach before a construction decision. The Pilar inferred resource of about 970,000 oz is unchanged, with an update expected in Q2 2009. These are study estimates
Yamana declared its December 2008 monthly dividend of US$0.01 per share, payable January 14, 2009 to holders of record on December 31, 2008. The amount is unchanged from the earlier monthly payments.
Yamana agreed a bought-deal share sale with underwriters, first announced as 16.7 million shares at Cdn$6.00 (Cdn$100.2 million), then increased on the same day to 22.5 million shares for Cdn$135 million with the over-allotment option removed. The shares are offered in Canada (not Quebec) only, and closing is expected in late December 2008, subject to approvals including the TSX. Proceeds are for operating and working capital, and may be used to reduce debt under the revolving facility or fund discretionary capital programs. For existing shareholders this means about 22.5 million new shares, and the filing gives no reason for the raise beyond the stated uses.
Yamana declared its November 2008 monthly dividend of US$0.01 per share, payable December 15, 2008 to holders of record on November 28, 2008. The amount is unchanged.
Yamana declared its October 2008 monthly dividend of US$0.01 per share, payable November 14, 2008 to holders of record on October 31, 2008. The amount is unchanged.
Yamana declared monthly dividends of US$0.01 per share for both August and September 2008. The August dividend is payable September 15 to holders of record on August 29, and the September dividend is payable October 14 to holders of record on September 30. The amount is unchanged.
Yamana declared a July 2008 dividend of US$0.01 per share, payable August 14, 2008 to holders of record on July 31, 2008. The amount matches the earlier US$0.01 quarterly payments, but it is now described as a monthly dividend, so payments are now declared monthly rather than quarterly.
Yamana gave an exploration update. At Gualcamayo, new holes (e.g. 248.2 m of 3.00 g/t Au in 08QD-523) suggest QDD Lower West may be larger than the current resource estimate, and the company plans a feasibility update including it by year-end, with QDD production now expected to begin at the end of 2008. At El Peñón, drilling at Bonanza North supports the view that it could be at least twice the current resource, and the company reiterates 500,000 GEO/yr by end-2008 with a mine plan in progress for about 600,000. At Mercedes, Yamana says it is on track for a one-million-ounce gold resource and a feasibility study by end-2008. Pilar de Goiás has an inferred resource of 972,000 oz at 2.42 g/t, with a scoping study planned for end-2008. These are drilling results and company expectations, not confirmed reserves.
Yamana filed a mineral resource update report (GeoSim Services, dated March 10, 2008) for its Gualcamayo gold project in San Juan, Argentina. The excerpt shows only the cover, disclaimers and table of contents, which list updated resource estimates for the QDD Lower zone and the Amelia Inés and Magdalena (AIM) deposits, but no resource figures, so no change in size can be stated.
Yamana filed an updated technical report (Independent Mining Consultants, March 17, 2008) on the Chapada copper-gold mine in Brazil, which had its first year of commercial production in 2007. Proven and probable reserves as of January 1, 2008 are 310.8 million tonnes at 0.33% copper and 0.24 g/t gold, slightly up from 303.0 million tonnes at 0.35% copper and 0.26 g/t gold a year earlier. The report says higher metal prices converted some resource to reserve; reserves assume US$1.85/lb copper and US$575/oz gold.
Yamana filed a Golder Associates technical report (March 2008) updating mineral resources and reserves at the Jacobina mine in Bahia, Brazil (Canavieiras, Serra do Córrego, Morro do Vento and João Belo deposits), as at December 31, 2007. The excerpt shown contains the contents pages and disclaimers but not the resource or reserve numbers, so no change in size can be stated from it.
Yamana filed an independent technical report (Scott Wilson RPA, dated February 11, 2008) auditing the resources and reserves of El Peñón in Chile, the mine gained in the Meridian takeover. The auditors found no significant errors in their rerun calculations and called the metal prices used (US$470/oz gold) conservative. However, they said production-versus-forecast reconciliation has become somewhat less accurate than in prior years, so the resource classification is 'somewhat aggressive' and should be revised. The reserve figures are as at December 31, 2006, and the excerpt does not show them.
Yamana filed an updated technical report (dated February 2008, prepared with NCL Consultants) on its São Francisco mine in Mato Grosso, Brazil, which the report says has produced since 2005-2006 using open-pit mining with heap leach and gravity processing. It updates resources, reserves, mining and metallurgy for 2008 reporting purposes; the excerpt shown does not include the resource or reserve figures, so no changes can be stated here.
This is a re-filing of the same March 25, 2008 year-end results release (sales US$747.1 million, net earnings US$157.2 million, reserves of 17.9 million oz, 2008 target of 1.3 million GEO). One visible difference: here El Peñón is planned to reach about 600,000 GEO per year by 2010, versus the end of 2009 in the previous version. No new events are added.
Yamana reported 2007 results: sales of US$747.1 million, net earnings of US$157.2 million, and cash and short-term investments of about US$330 million at year end. Results include Meridian and Northern Orion only since October 2007. Proven and probable gold reserves rose to 17.9 million oz from 6.8 million oz, and the company says the Meridian and Northern Orion acquisitions were completed for total consideration of US$4.8 billion, which closes the Meridian open thread in the company's own account. It targets 1.3 million gold equivalent oz in 2008 (the earlier context said 1 million oz gold) and 2.2 million oz of gold from 2012, with about US$1.3 billion of capex over three years funded from cash and operating cash flow. El Peñón is now planned at about 500,000 GEO/yr by Q4 2008 and 600,000 by end of 2009 in this version, and Gualcamayo start-up is now Q3 2008. These are plans, not results.
