Q3 Results ---- Positive Turn Around
Dia Bras Releases Third Quarter 2009 Results
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Dec. 1, 2009) - Dia Bras Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:DIB) announces the results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009. All currency in this release is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. For a full explanation of results, the unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements, Management Discussion & Analysis of the Company and mining statistics, please visit the Company's website at www.diabras.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Highlights
- The Company shows positive cash flow of $680,147 from operating activities during the third quarter of 2009, compared with a negative cash flow of $7,027,991 in the same period of 2008.
- The loss of the third quarter of 2009 decreased to $598,009, compared with a loss of $7,517,228 for the same period in 2008.
- Operating cash costs decreased by 13% to $90.03 per metric tonne during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2009, compared with the same period in 2008 for the Bolivar pilot-mining activities. This decrease in operating cash costs is primarily due to the cost improvement program and cost control initiatives which involved, among other things, a reduction in the amount of transportation of mineralized rocks by contractors.
- Bolivar Mine sales of $4,630,760 for the quarter were up 4%, compared with $4,452,750 in the third quarter of 2008. The increase is primarily due to the significantly higher head grades for copper and zinc and overall volumes of metal sold.
- During the third quarter of 2009, zinc and copper production increased 44.62% and 33.92% respectively, compared with the same period 2008. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2009, zinc production increased 0.41% and copper production decreased 24.03%, compared with the same period in 2008. This reduction was mainly due to the suspension of the transportation of mineralized rock to the Malpaso mill for about 25 days during the second quarter and also due to lower mill-feed grades.
- During the third quarter of 2009, the Company recorded a gain on final settlements of $121,351 on variations of final commodity market prices for shipments of 2009. This positive settlement results from higher metals prices, in general, at the end of the Quotational Period than at the time of shipment of the concentrates.
- Production in the third quarter of the year was higher than expected because of higher grades mined from the Bolivar mine. As a result, Management has revised the 2009 production objectives to reflect this. The Company now expects to produce about 2,400,000 lbs. of copper and 16,400,000 lbs. of zinc in 2009 from the Bolivar mine.