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Wescan Goldfileds Inc. Announces Third Quarter Results
November 27, 2006
Wescan Goldfields Inc. (“Wescan”or the “Company”) reports the unaudited results of
Wescan’s operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 have been filed and may
be viewed at www.sedar.com. A summary of key financial and operating results for the
quarter follows:
Highlights
• Wescan announced acquisition of the Jojay gold deposit
• The Company announced the establishment of wholly owned subsidiary.
• Continued data compilation and interpretation on its uranium land holdings.
• Completed drilling and soil sampling on Fork Lake gold property.
• Working capital of $3.9 million at September 30, 2006.
• Issued and outstanding shares of 49,628,738 at September 30, 2006.
Acquisition of Jojay Gold Deposit
On August 31, 2006 the Company announced that it had signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”)
with Claude Resources Inc (“Claude”) to acquire Claude’s 75% interest of the Jojay gold
deposit to bring the Company’s position to 100% of the property. Under the terms of the
transaction, Wescan acquired Claude’s interest by the issuance of 3.5 million Wescan
shares on the transaction close date of October 24, 2006. The Jojay gold deposit is an
advanced stage exploration project located in the Greenstone Belt in northern
Saskatchewan and this acquisition now allows the Company to aggressively move this
property forward.
Establishment of Subsidiary Company
During the quarter, the Company announced that it had created a wholly owned Mexican
subsidiary, Minera Abundancia, which has been registered in the Mexican state of
Chihuahua. The Company feels that the establishment of this subsidiary is another step in
achieving Wescan’s strategic plan of establishing itself in the international mining
community. The creation of the Mexican subsidiary allows Wescan to pursue and
potentially acquire advanced exploration projects in that part of the world.
Athabasca Basin Properties
During the second quarter of 2006, the Wescan-Santoy Joint Venture completed a
helicopter-borne time domain electromagnetic survey of the Black Lake block (Fir Island
project) and an airborne magnetic and MEGATEM survey of the Hozempa Lake,
Pattyson Lake-Umpherville Lake, Dowler Lake and Richards Lake blocks. In the third
quarter of 2006, interpretation and evaluation of the geophysical results were initiated by
Santoy Resources Ltd. (“Santoy”) (the operator) with the expectation of completing and
developing a follow-up exploration plan for 2007 prior to year-end.
Fork Lake Gold Property
During the third quarter of 2006, Wescan drill-tested the continuation of the Boulder
zone, intersected earlier this year by drill hole DL-06-03 which contained encouraging
results of 12.07 grams/tonne over 1 meter down hole. Extensive soil sampling programs
were conducted over 1.4 x 3.4 km and 0.8 x 1.3 km grids in areas southwest of the
Boulder and Jasper zones to identify continuity of these zones and the potential for new
zones.
Quarter End Results
As at September 30, 2006, Wescan’s cash balance, which included cash and short-term
investments, totaled $4.4 million. The Company recorded a net loss of $176,017 ($0.00
per share) compared to a net loss of $69,568 ($0.00 per share) for the same period in
2005. The difference between the quarter ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 is
predominately related to the on-going professional fees incurred by the subsidiary
company, certain due diligence expenditures on potential properties evaluated during the
third quarter of 2006 both nationally and internationally and increased personnel and
executive compensation costs.
Year to Date Results
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006, the Company recorded a net loss
of $301,973 ($0.01 per share) compared to net income of $352 ($0.00 per share) for the
same period in 2005. The loss for the period ended September 30, 2006 was mitigated by
non-cash income tax recoveries of $534,000 (2005 - $329,688). The income tax recovery
is the result of the Company recording certain tax pools to the extent a future income tax
liability was created upon the renunciation of flow-through expenditures. During the
second quarter federal and provincial governments enacted a reduction in corporate tax
rates resulting in a further recovery during the nine-month period. Without the income
tax recovery the loss for the nine-month period would have been $835,973 (2005 -
$329,336). The primary difference from 2005 to 2006 relates to increased professional
fees due to the establishment of a subsidiary in the second quarter of 2006, increased due
diligence activities both internationally and nationally and increased administration costs
over the same period of 2005.
Selected financial highlights include:
Consolidated Balance Sheets |
As at September 30, 2006 |
As at December 31,2005 |
Current assets |
$ 4,457,213 |
$ 6,369,236 |
Capital and other assets |
4,114,537 |
1,479,705 |
Current liabilities |
587,578 |
276,716 |
Future income tax liability |
501,000 |
- |
Share capital |
7,813,883 |
7,749,253 |
Contributed surplus |
393,306 |
245,016 |
Deficit |
(724,017) |
(422,044) |
Selected financial highlights continued:
Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) |
Three months Ended
September 30, 2006 |
Three monthsEnded September 30, 2005 |
Nine months Ended September 30, 2006 |
Nine months Ended September 30,2005 |
Interest and other |
$ 51,228 |
$ 21,765 |
$ 157,120 |
$ 50,106 |
Operating Expenses |
413,245 |
91,333 |
993,093 |
379,442 |
Loss for the period before other items |
362,017 |
69,568 |
835,973 |
329,336 |
Net income (loss) for the period |
(176,017) |
(69,568) |
(301,973) |
352 |
Income (loss) per share |
(0.00) |
(0.00) |
(0.01) |
0.00 |
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows |
Three months Ended
September 30, 2006 |
Three monthsEnded September 30, 2005 |
Nine months Ended September 30, 2006 |
Nine months Ended September 30,2005 |
Cash flows from operating activities |
$ 151,468 |
$ 17,581 |
$ (247,870) |
$ (204,315) |
Cash flows from investing activities |
(629,468) |
(421,063) |
(2,644,587) |
(644,377)
|
Cash flows from financing activities |
3,780 |
3,699,847 |
1,028,423 |
4,604,220 |
Net increase (decrease) in cash |
(474,220) |
3,296,365 |
(1,864,034) |
3,735,528 |
Cash - beginning of period |
4,841,645 |
2,856,347 |
6,231,459 |
2,146,121 |
Cash - end of period |
4,367,425 |
5,881,649 |
4,367,425 |
5,881,649 |
Outlook
As at November 20, 2006, the Company has $3.8 million in cash and cash equivalents
that will partially be used to complete future exploration programs on the Jojay project
and Fork Lake gold properties, fund its 50% share of future exploration programs on the
Company’s uranium interests and continue exploring potential mineral properties in
Canada and internationally. The Company will spend a minimum of $2.5 million on
exploration programs on the Company’s gold and uranium properties during 2006 to
fulfill its flow-through expenditure requirements. Surplus cash will be used for future
drill programs, general corporate matters and other opportunities as they may arise.
Caution Regarding Forward-looking Information
From time to time, Wescan makes written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including
the "safe harbour" provisions of the Ontario Securities Act. Wescan may make such statements in this news release, in other filings
with Canadian regulators, in reports to shareholders or in other communications. These forward-looking statements include, among
others, statements with respect to Wescan's objectives for the ensuing year, our medium and long-term goals, and strategies to achieve
those objectives and goals, as well as statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates
and intentions. The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "suspect," "outlook," "believe," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"expect," "intend," and words and expressions of similar import are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular,
statements regarding Wescan's future operations, future exploration and development activities or other development plans contain
forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements and information are based on Wescan's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and
information currently available to Wescan concerning anticipated financial performance, business prospects, strategies, regulatory
developments, development plans, exploration, development and mining activities and commitments. Although management considers
these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist
that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place
undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from the beliefs,
plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors
include, but are not limited to, developments in world gold markets, risks relating to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and other
currencies relative to the US dollar, changes in exploration, development or mining plans due to exploration results and changing
budget priorities of Wescan or its joint venture partners; the effects of competition in the markets in which Wescan operates; the
impact of changes in the laws and regulations regulating mining exploration and development; judicial or regulatory judgments and
legal proceedings; operational and infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in Wescan's most recently filed annual and
interim MD&A and Wescan's anticipation of and success in managing the foregoing risks.
Wescan cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking
statements to make decisions with respect to Wescan, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Wescan does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that
may be made from time to time by Wescan or on our behalf.
For further information please contact:
Mr. Moe Lindsay
President
300 – 224 4th Avenue South
Saskatoon, SK S7K 5M5
PH: (306) 664-2422
FAX: (306) 664-7181 |
OR |
Mr. Harvey Bay
Interim Chief Financial Officer
300 – 224 4th Avenue South
Saskatoon, SK S7K 5M5
PH: (306) 664-2422
FAX: (306) 664-7181 |
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