Mr. Georges Cohen reports

ROBEX RESOURCES INC. REACHES A NEW RECORD QUARTERLY TURNOVER OF CAD 45.9 MILLION

Robex Resources Inc. has released its financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2020.

Highlights of the third quarter of 2020:

• Gold sales increased by 80 per cent:
  • In the third quarter of 2020, 18,121 ounces of gold were sold for a total of $45.9-million, including all 7,831 ounces of the gold ingot stocks from June 30, 2020, for a total of $19.5-million, compared with the 13,276 ounces of gold that were sold for $25.5-million in the same period in 2019, thus an 80-per-cent increase.
  • As a reminder, the difference between the number of ounces of gold sold and the number of ounces of gold produced during the periods is due to the timing of shipments and the company's liquidity management.
• 224-per-cent increase in Nampala's operating income:
  • The mine generated operating income of $28-million for the third quarter of 2020, compared with $8.6-million for the same period in 2019, including $3.5-million in the amortization of fixed assets for this quarter and $7.4-million for the same period in 2019. Last October, the company filed a National Instrument 43-101 technical report containing the mineral resource and reserve estimates for the Nampala mine as at July 31, 2020, which has extended the Nampala mine's life to over eight years, thereby slowing the amortization rate.
• Production costs:
  • For the third quarter of 2020, there was a temporary 29-per-cent decrease in production, which reached 10,706 ounces compared with 15,175 ounces for the same period in 2019:
    • The rainy season was extremely long and heavy this year, making the ore from the bottom of the main pit inaccessible. Normally, each spring, a higher-grade ore is deposited on the run-of-mine pad to maintain production levels in anticipation of the rainy season, a period when pit excavation is more difficult. However, the restriction on the number of people on the mine site during the lockdown in the second quarter of 2020 has limited pit excavation and, therefore, prevented the company from doing so. In the third quarter of 2020, the company had to process lower-grade ore (0.86 gram per tonne gold compared with 1.05 g/t gold for the same period in 2019).
    • Also, the opening of the east pit led the company to process surface ore, which, as has previously been the case in the main pit, is of a lower grade than the core of the mineralized zone.
    • The all-in sustaining cost per ounce sold is $1,072 for the third quarter of 2020, compared with $893 per ounce sold for the same period in 2019. The increase is primarily explained by the lower grade, which has resulted in fewer ounces being produced from the same tonnage of processed ore.
    • Rather than smoothing this one-time situation, it was decided to execute the mining plan at its economic optimum, even if it meant having a quarter with an apparent production underperformance. However, this did not prevent the company from achieving an overall production for the first nine months of 2020 equivalent to the same period in 2019. It is important to note that since the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Nampala mine has recovered a richer ore grade; therefore, production is more consistent with that obtained before the rainy season.
    • Production costs capitalized as stripping costs amounted to $4.7-million in the third quarter of 2020, stemming from the fact that operating new pits around the main pit in 2020 has temporarily involved stripping work and, consequently, the removal of larger amounts of waste rock to reach the ore.
• Cash flows from operating activities representing 202 per cent of cash flows for the same period in 2019:
  • The company's operating activities have generated cash flows of $28.1-million (4.7 cents per share), corresponding to 61 per cent of the turnover, compared with $13.9-million (2.4 cents per share) for the same period in 2019.

Robex's MD&A (management's discussion and analysis) and the condensed interim consolidated financial statements (unaudited) are available at the company's website. These reports and other documents produced by the company are also available on SEDAR.

Continuous improvement

The Nampala mine remains focused on improving safe production performances:

• In early November, a new discharge line was installed, increasing the diameter from 315 millimetres to 450 mm, to increase production while reducing pump speed.
• A cone crusher is scheduled to be installed -- equipment is currently being delivered.
• A new mechanical workshop is being completed. It is bigger and much closer to the plant, and it will speed up the work.
• A 500-cubic-metre diesel tank is being installed to increase diesel reserves and better secure production.

To improve site security, nine members of the National Guard are now permanently posted on the Nampala site to support the police team and the company's own security service.

Georges Cohen, president, commented: "Performance is extremely satisfactory, despite a slight cost increase resulting from an unusually challenging rainy season and the impacts of the pandemic.

"Initiatives are continually under way to optimize performances at the Nampala mine.

"Our prospecting campaign is still very promising; the work and financial efforts will, I hope, make it possible to increase annual production."

We seek Safe Harbor.