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Market: TSX NYSE LSE
Sector: Gold Mining
EPIC: YAU
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Yamana Gold
www.yamana.com
Yamana Gold Inc. is a Canadian-based gold producer with significant gold production including other precious metals and copper, gold development stage properties, exploration properties, and land positions in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Central America and the United States. Yamana has seven operating mines and five development projects providing direct employment opportunities to over 8,700 individuals. 

The company is targeting sustainable production of approximately 2.2 million gold equivalent ounces in 2012.
Full Yamana Gold profile here
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Yamana Gold reports exceptional first quarter results, costs continue to decline

6th May 2009, 10:51 am
Yamana Gold reports exceptional first quarter results, costs continue to decline

Yamana Gold Inc (TSX: YRI; NYSE: AUY; LSE: YAU) reported what it called “exceptional results” for the first quarter to March 31 2009 across all key measures.

Production was in line with previous guidance, and costs were in line with expectations and continued to decline.

Revenues were US$224.3 million, for which the group did not provide a comparison, and net profit rose 33 percent from the previous first quarter to US$86.0 million.

Total production for the first quarter of 2009 was 271,482 gold equivalent ounces, which was at the bottom of the forecast range of 290,000 geoz plus or minus 7 percent.

Production increased month over month with March production of 95,773 geoz, confirming the expected ramp up in production anticipated for the remainder of the year. Cash costs for the first quarter 2009 were US$379 per geoz, confirming the expected downward trend.

Yamana believes further improvements in costs may be realized over time.

Chairman and CEO Peter Marrone said: “Gualcamayo (in Argentina) and Sao Vicente (in Brazil) are advancing towards commercial production. We experienced significant advancements in our development and near development stage projects during the quarter, further supporting our growth plan and complementing our significant increase in resources at the end of 2008 and strong growth across all key measures."

Production at Chapada, Brazil, increased during the first quarter of 2009 to 38,552 ounces of gold mainly due to higher tonnage of ore mined and processed. Yamana continued with the planned expansion to 20 million tonnes per year with completion expected by the third quarter of 2009.

El Penon in Chile produced 84,351 geoz during the first quarter, compared with 97,873 and 97,944 in the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2008, respectively, mainly due to grade variation, which reversed by the end of the first quarter.  Gold and silver grades are expected to increase in the second half of  the year. Yamana has previously guided that El Penon is expected to produce most of its gold equivalent ounces in the second half of 2009.

First quarter production at Jacobina in Brazil reached record levels and exceeded expectations totaling 27,078 ounces of gold.  Costs also continue to show improvement quarter over quarter declining to US$400 per oz of gold, a decrease of 30 percent from
the fourth quarter of 2008, 48 percent from the third quarter of 2008 and 28 percent from the first quarter of 2008.

Production at Gualcamayo, Argentina, totalled 20,483 ounces of gold in the first quarter of 2009, meeting budget expectations.

Minera Florida, Chile, produced 19,302 gold equivalent ounces, in line with company expectations. Production in April increased by approximately 7 percent from March, confirming the expected ramp up in production as the expansion was completed in the first quarter.

First quarter production of 20,010 ounces of gold at Brazil’s Fazenda Brasileiro was in line with company expectations. Yamana expects production to increase to levels higher
than first quarter levels for the remainder of the year.

Total production from the Guapore mines in Brazil was 31,363 ounces of gold. Sao Francisco performed to expectations, with production totalling 20,223 ounces of gold in the first quarter. Commissioning continued at Sao Vicente and production for the first quarter was 11,140 ounces of gold.

San Andres, Honduras, saw production exceed the budget for the first quarter with 14,958 ounces of gold, and costs continued to show a trend of consistent improvement, coming in below budget.

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