North American Palladium Ltd. Reports Unaudited Consolidated Earnings and Production Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2017; Reaffirms Production Guidance for 2017
For the quarter, underground mining produced 363,136 (4,035 tonnes per day) at a grade of 4.4 g/t palladium compared to 338,807 tonnes (3,723 tonnes per day) at a grade of 4.3 g/t palladium a year ago. During the quarter, a total of 458,382 tonnes of ore were milled, including 77,600 tonnes of low grade surface ore, compared to 353,601 tonnes of ore milled a year ago which included 40,270 tonnes of low grade ore and tailings. The year-on-year increase of 104,781 tonnes milled resulted in a 21% reduction in site-wide unit production costs from CAD 89/tonne in first quarter of 2016 to CAD 70/tonne in first quarter of 2017.
The company's previous 2017 guidance of palladium production of between 180,000 and 190,000 ounces of palladium at an average AISC cost of CAD 700-720 per ounce remains unchanged. The AISC for the second half of The AISC for the second half of 2017 is expected to drop to USD 550-560 per ounce.