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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 03/08/13 -- Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX: THO)(NYSE: TAHO) is pleased to announce financial results for the year ending December 31, 2012, and to update construction progress at its flagship Escobal project in Guatemala. Significant results for 2012 include (stated in U.S. dollars):
-- Net earnings/(loss) for 2012 amounted to ($93.5 million) or ($0.65) per share.-- 2012 cash outflow from operating activities amounted to $87.8 million.-- Corporate G&A expense amounted to $11.0 million, excluding non-cash share-based compensation of $8.0 million.-- Exploration expense amounted to $10.6 million.-- Capital additions for the year amounted to $122.9 million.-- A project-to-date total of $250.7 million of the $326.6 million budget has been spent towards construction of the 3500 tpd Escobal project.-- Cash and equivalents at year-end were $164.6 million.
Escobal Project Construction Update
EPCM activities for the process plant and ancillary facilities reached 69 percent completion by year-end. The project remains on schedule and on budget for mill commissioning in the second half of 2013 and commercial production in early 2014.
Nearly all structural concrete pours were completed and significant progress was made by year-end in the area of structural steel erection. By the end of December, structural steel was completed at the primary crusher and operations buildings, and was nearly complete at the secondary crushing facility and fine ore storage/reclaim facility.
The current focus is on mechanical and electrical installation, and the completion of the ball mill, flotation and filtration facilities. Progress is continuing on the dry tailings placement facility and the backfill paste plant.
Underground development advance is currently meeting expectations and is 70 percent complete. Stope development on the 1265 and 1290 levels is underway, and the mine is expected to be ready for mill commissioning in the second half of this year. Primary decline development completed to date will support five years of production. The declines are expected to reach the 1190 level in the fourth quarter of 2013 and once completed to that elevation will support an additional two years of production.
Work on the main ventilation raise from the 1290 level to the surface has commenced. By the end of January, the pilot Alimak raise (2.4 metre x 2.4 metre) had reached the surface. A steel lined collar will be installed in March, and the raise will be enlarged to six metre diameter down to the 1290 level.
A bulk sample from vein crosscut on the 1265 level was shipped and pilot plant testing has commenced. Concentrates from this test work will be sent to potential customer smelters and labs for conformation analysis prior to finalizing commercial contracts. Tailings samples will be used to fine tune backfill paste plant parameters.
Tahoe's year-end financials, MD&A and AIF will be available on SEDAR and the Company's website later in the day. Recent construction photographs are on the Company's website at www.tahoeresourcesinc.com.
