Primero Mining Q1 Gold Production Declines, Cuts FY16 Production View

(RTTNews) - Primero Mining Corp. (PPP, P.TO) Monday reported that its first-quarter production was 36,158 gold equivalent ounces, 41% below last year's 61,073 ounces. The production was negatively impacted by changes to the mining sequence at San Dimas to include the implementation of Canadian safety standards for ground support, which resulted in the deferral of some high grade stopes.

Preliminary all-in sustaining costs for the quarter are expected to be $1,556 per gold ounce and total cash costs of $944 per gold equivalent ounce.

First-quarter production included 22,901 gold equivalent ounces from San Dimas and 13,257 ounces of gold from Black Fox.

Black Fox production was affected by the limited availability of high-grade ore from the upper, remnant areas of the underground mine.

Looking ahead, citing the San Dimas impact, the company cut its 2016 production guidance to between 230,000 and 250,000 gold equivalent ounces. All-in sustaining cost guidance is now expected to be between $975 and $1,025 per gold ounce.