TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Steppe Gold Ltd. (TSX: STGO) (OTCQX: STPGF) (“Steppe Gold” or the “Company”) today reported strong financial and operational results for the third quarter of 2024.

Highlights:
(all figures in US$000’s)

Strong Operational Performance: Both Boroo Gold LLC (“Boroo Gold”) and Steppe Gold delivered solid production and sales results. Total revenue for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, amounted to $37,331 and $131,912, respectively.

• Revenue for Boroo Gold for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, amounted to $27,397 and $121,978 on sales of 12,607 and 57,114 gold ounces and 2,833 and 11,833 silver ounces.
  
• Steppe Gold’s revenue from August 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024, amounted to $9,934 on sales of 3,769 gold ounces and 20,078 silver ounces.
  
• Average realized prices for Boroo Gold for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, were $2,167 and $2,131 per gold ounce and $28 and $25 per silver ounce, respectively.
  
• Average realized prices for Steppe Gold for the period from August 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024, were $2,623 per gold ounce and $24 per silver ounce.

Robust Financial Results: Revenue and earnings increased significantly compared to the previous quarter. Total operating income before depreciation and depletion for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, amounted to $21,487 and $88,148.

• Operating income from Boroo Gold’s mine operations for the three and nine months that ended September 30, 2024, were $16,786 and $83,447.
  
• Operating income from Steppe Gold’s mine operations for the period from August 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024, was $4,701.

EBITDA for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, amounted to $19,453 and $82,687.

Low-Cost Production: All-in Sustaining Costs remained low, enhancing profitability.

• In Sustaining Costs for Boroo Gold were $1,095 and $961 per ounce sold for the three and nine months that ended September 30, 2024.
• All in Sustaining Cost for Steppe Gold from August 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024, were $1,610 per ounce sold.

Company outlook:

The acquisition of Boroo Gold was a transformational step for the Company. It accelerates the path to a multi-asset Mongolia-focused mining group and, importantly, is projected to immediately provide strong cash flow to support growth plans, further improved with the recent strong gold prices.

The near-term focus for the Company is on maximizing production and cash flows at both producing mines and executing on successful completion of the Phase 2 Expansion.

The Company’s condensed interim consolidated financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 have been filed on SEDAR+. The full version of the condensed interim consolidated financial statements and associated management’s discussion & analysis can be viewed on the Company’s website at www.steppegold.com or under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Steppe Gold Ltd.

Steppe Gold is Mongolia’s premier precious metals company.

For Further information, please contact:

Bataa Tumur-Ochir, Chairman and CEO

Elisa Tagarvaa, Investor Relations        [email protected]

Shangri-La office, Suite 1201, Olympic Street
19A, Sukhbaatar District 1,
Ulaanbaatar 14241, Mongolia
Tel: +976 7732 1914

Non-IFRS Performance Measures

The Company uses the following non-IFRS measures: Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA and AISC. EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. AISC is calculated using cash costs in addition to general and administration, asset retirement costs, and sustaining capital, less certain non-recurring costs (notably exploration costs at the Mungu deposit) to provide an overall company outlook on the total cost required to sell an ounce of gold.

Management believes that these non-IFRS measures provide useful information to investors in measuring the financial performance of the Company for the reasons outlined below. These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other publicly traded companies and should not be construed as an alternative to other financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS. The Company believes that these measures, together with measures determined in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. The inclusion of these measures is meant to provide additional information and should not be used as a substitute for performance measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures are not necessarily standard and therefore may not be comparable to other issuers. Further details of non-IFRS measures noted above can be found in the Company’s management’s discussion & analysis for the six months ended June 30, 2024.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements or disclosures relating to the Company that are based on the expectations of its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company which may constitute forward-looking statements or information (“forward-looking statements”) under applicable securities laws. All such statements and disclosures, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results, or developments that the Company anticipates or expects may, or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the words “continued”, “focus”, “scheduled”, “will”, “projected”, “opportunity”, “expected”, “planned” and similar expressions. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the following: the anticipated cash flow and other benefits of the Boroo Gold transaction; the potential for value creation to Steppe Gold’s shareholders; the strengths, characteristics and potential of the resulting company and discussion of future plans, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts and the timing related thereto, including with respect to the Phase 2 Expansion and the ATO gold mine.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release reflect several material factors and expectations and assumptions of the Company including, without limitation: management team and board of directors of Steppe Gold; material adverse effects on the business, properties and assets of the Company; changes in business plans and strategies; market and capital finance conditions; risks inherent to any capital financing transactions; changes in world commodity markets; currency fluctuations; costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry; change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry; discrepancies between actual and estimated production and test results, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries; and such other risk factors detailed from time to time in Steppe Gold’s public disclosure documents, including, without limitation, those risks identified in Steppe Gold’s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2023, which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca

Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. Except as required by applicable law, Steppe Gold assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If Steppe Gold updates any one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the company will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.