RE: RE: Prelim Q4 results out. Production doubles Well, now we know why the stock has been in the dumps for the past three months. Besides the speculation and actual occurrence of its removal from the GDXJ index causing many investors and funds to also liquidate AUQ in sympathy, today's news highlights negative updates at their flagship Ocampo. Basically ore grades dropped by ONE-HALF in Q4 resulting in a production shortfall.
"Production in the quarter was impacted by mine sequencing changes at Ocampo due to unanticipated and not previously encountered adverse ground conditions at newly opened mining areas in the underground mines. Revised ground control standards have now been fully implemented and production will resume in these areas during the first quarter with grades expected to return to levels experienced in the first three quarters of 2011.
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- The re-sequencing negatively impacted ore grades as over 81,000 tonnes of ore from high grade stopes, grading from 5.3 to 9.6 grams per tonne gold equivalent, were replaced with approximately 77,000 tonnes of ore from lower grade stopes, with grades ranging from 1.7 to 4.0 grams per tonne gold equivalent.
- It is estimated that these lower grades have effectively deferred approximately 12,000 to 13,000 gold equivalent ounces of production targeted for the fourth quarter into the first quarter of 2012 as mining resumes in the areas. Had these ounces been delivered as planned in the fourth quarter of 2011, Ocampo would have achieved production guidance previously provided for the year."
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