Vancouver, B.C. — Starcore International Mines Ltd. (the “Company”) has filed the results for the third quarter ended April 30, 2010 for the Company and its mining operations from the San Martin Mine. Starcore had revenues from metal sales of $4.6 million, earnings from mining operations of $0.6 million, and a loss of $0.9 million for the quarter ended April 30, 2010. Over the nine month period ended April 30, 2010, the Company reports revenues of $14.1 million, earnings from mining operations of $3.7 million and a loss of $0.9 million. The basic and diluted loss per share for the quarter ended April 30, 2010 was $0.01, and $0.00 per share for the nine months ended April 30, 2010.
The following table is selected information of mine production statistics for the San Martin mine for the third quarter of operations ended April 30, 2010 and for twelve months of operations to January 31, 2010.
| (Unaudited) | Unit of measure | Actual results for three months ended April 30, 2010 |
Actual results for twelve months ended January 31, 2010 |
| Production of Gold in Dore | thousand ounces | 3.5 | 19.3 |
| Production of Silver in Dore | thousand ounces | 37.9 | 170.7 |
| Equivalent ounces of Gold* | thousand ounces | 4.1 | 21.9 |
| Gold grade | grams/tonne | 1.93 | 2.45 |
| Silver grade | grams/tonne | 29 | 34 |
| Milled | thousands of tonnes | 67.1 | 273.0 |
| Operating Cost per tonne milled | US dollars/tonne | 36 | 32 |
| Operating Cost per Equivalent Ounce | US dollars/oz | 581 | 419 |
* assuming a 66:1 silver to gold equivalency ratio for three months ended April 30, and for the year ended January 31, 2010.
Overall equivalent gold production was 4,100 ounces, which is lower than the average for the twelve months ended January 31, 2010, of 5,500 ounces per quarter. As a result, the operating cost per ounce was higher at US$581 compared to the prior year’s average of US$419. Lower metal production was a result of lower ore grades of 1.93 g/t for gold and 29 g/t for silver compared to 2.45 g/t and 34 g/t, respectively, for the 12 months ended January 31, 2010. Gold recovery was also lower, due to the lower ore grades, at 85% for the quarter ended April 30, 2010, compared to 90% for the 12 months ended January 31, 2010.
The lower ore grades are a result of various operational issues, including the dilutive effect of faulted ore zones resulting in poor access to ore bodies and the dilution resulting from the narrowing of the veins requiring a change in mining practices in some ore bodies. The Company expects to increase the current ore grades over the next quarter and thereby improve earnings. The Company also continues exploration efforts to increase resources and to find higher grade deposits.
The following table contains selected highlights from Starcore’s consolidated income statement and consolidated balance sheet for the three and nine month periods ended April 30, 2010:
| For the three months ended April 30 000’s (unaudited) |
For the nine months ended April 30 000’s (unaudited) |
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| 2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |
| Total Revenue | $ 4,600 | $ 5,122 | $ 14,079 | $ 17,091 |
| Earnings from mining operations | $ 598 | $ 710 | $ 3,738 | $ 2,879 |
| Net loss | $ (871) | $ (380) | $ (88) | $ (511) |
| Net loss per share — basic and diluted | $ (0.01) | $ (0.01) | $ (0.00) | $ (0.00) |
Mining earnings for 2010 were lower than 2009 due to higher equivalent metal production in the prior year. Despite higher market metal prices in 2010 over the same period in 2009, the reduced production resulted in a higher percentage of production being subject to the Company’s forward sales contracts set at US$731 per ounce of gold produced. Overall, mine production costs remain relatively low at US$36 per tonne milled, which reflects mine management’s efforts to reduce operating costs (see table above).
The Company also had positive cash flow from operations of $3.6 million for the nine months ended April 30, 2010 compared to $1.9 million for the same period in 2009, which results mainly from timing of dore shipments and balances of working capital accounts.
Full financial statements are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Starcore’s website at www.starcore.com.
ON BEHALF OF STARCORE INTERNATIONAL MINES LTD.
Signed “Gary Arca”
Gary Arca, Chief Financial Officer and Director
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Gary Arca
Telephone: 1-604-602-4935
Toll Free: 1-866-602-4935 / Facsimile: 1-604-602-4936
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