Royal Gold’s Wassa, Prestea mine sales dip

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD; TSX: RGL), together with its subsidiaries, has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary RGLD Gold AG sold approximately 54,300 gold ounces, and had 12,200 gold ounces and 210,000 silver ounces in inventory related to its streaming agreements during its fiscal 2016 third quarter ended March 31, 2016.

The miner said stream segment sales and inventory were significantly higher than the prior year quarter but lower than the quarter ending December 31, 2015 (prior quarter).

Royal Gold said as expected, Mount Milligan, Wassa and Prestea sales were lower than the prior quarter, somewhat offset by higher Pueblo Viejo and Andacollo sales. Notably, the Company’s silver stream associated with Pueblo Viejo production commenced on January 1, 2016.

RGLD Gold AG’s average realised gold price was $1,168 per ounce sold while cost of sales was approximately $330 per ounce for the third quarter.

“Cost of sales is specific to our stream agreements and is the result of the Company’s purchase of gold for cash payments at a set contractual price, or a percentage of the prevailing market price of gold when purchased,” Royal Gold said in a statement.

Royal Gold previously indicated its intention to complete a review in the March quarter regarding the carrying value of its assets.

The miner said the Company preliminarily expects to report non-cash impairments in the third quarter in the range of $95 million to $100 million related to several non-principal properties, including the Phoenix gold stream. The Company expects to report a higher effective tax rate during the third quarter coinciding with this impairment and the appreciation of the Canadian dollar.

Royal Gold’s third quarter results will be released before the market opens for trading on Thursday, April 28, 2016, followed by a conference call that day at noon Eastern Daylight Time (10:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time).

Royal Gold is a precious metals royalty and stream company engaged in the acquisition and management of precious metal royalties, streams and similar production based interests. The Company owns interests on 193 properties on six continents, including interests on 38 producing mines and 24 development stage projects. Royal Gold is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “RGLD,” and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “RGL.”