PRECIOUS METALS

Santacruz's costs rise in Q1

Santacruz Silver's revenue rises while costs and net losses mount

 Santacruz silver pour

Santacruz silver pour

The company's revenue for Q4 stood at US$13.82 million, which is up from $10.22 million a year earlier. Meanwhile, mining operation cash cost of sales of $10.09 were up from $9.17 million year on year.

"The increase in operating expenses reflects an increase in administrative costs, share based compensation payments and charges related to inflation adjustment, penalties and surcharges on certain tax balances, offset by a decrease in professional fees," Santacruz said.

The miner's net loss in Q4 grew to $10.45 million from $295,000 a year earlier. And EBITDA was $4.47 million in the negative after being $1.4 million in the positive for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Santacruz CEO Carlos Silva said that the October 5 announced decision to place its Rosario mine in Mexico into care and maintenance was a "prudent decision" which has allowed the company to start 2022 focused on its more productive assets.

"In addition, the recently acquired Bolivian silver and zinc assets from Glencore will transform the company into a solid producer in 2022 and beyond," he said.

"We have started a drilling campaign at the Santa Gorgonia exploration project which is adjacent to our Zimapan mine. We are anticipating announce the first drilling results by the end of the second quarter of 2022," he added.

Santacruz's share price was quoted as C$0.41 (US$0.32) on May 3, having risen 5% day on day. The company has a market capitalization of C$136.23 billion.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Journal Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Journal Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Global Leadership Report 2024: Net Zero

Gain insights into decarbonisation trends and strategies from interviews with 20+ top mining executives and experts plus an industrywide survey.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Project Pipeline Handbook 2024

View our 50 top mining projects, handpicked using a unique, objective selection process from a database of 450+ global assets.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Investor Sentiment Report 2024

Survey revealing the plans, priorities, and preferences of 120+ mining investors and their expectations for the sector in 2024.