Leagold Reports H1 2019 Results, Including AISC of $951/oz and AISC Margin of $66 Million

(All amounts in US dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

H1 2019 Highlights include:

• Gold production of 197,234 ounces;
• Gold sales of 201,724 ounces;
• All-in sustaining costs (AISC)¹ of $951 per ounce of gold sold;
• AISC margin¹ of $65.9 million;
• EBITDA¹ of $67.3 million;
• Completion of $400 million debt refinancing; and
• Reported cash balance of $52.8 million at June 30, 2019

VANCOUVER, Aug. 1, 2019 /CNW/ - Leagold Mining Corporation (TSX:LMC; OTCQX:LMCNF) ("Leagold" or the "Company") reports Q2 and H1 2019 financial and operating results, with consolidated gold production for the six months ended June 30, 2019 of 197,234 oz at AISC of $951/oz sold, resulting in an AISC margin of $65.9 million. Six-month sales of 201,724 oz generated H1 2019 revenue of $258.3 million, earnings from mine operations of $44.2 million, and EBITDA of $67.3 million.

Table 1: Highlights for Q2 2019 and H1 2019, Compared to Q1 2019

Also during Q2 2019, Leagold completed a $400 million debt refinancing, which was used to repay existing debt and provide additional financing to fund the phased exploration of the Los Filos mine complex and construction of the Santa Luz project. For further details please see Leagold's news releases dated May 1, 2019 and June 25, 2019, available on www.leagold.com  and SEDAR.

The Los Filos mine complex expansion preparations were under way in Q2 and commenced in July. The first task will be development of an additional vent raise followed by lateral development on key mine infrastructure, extending beyond the 1,330-metre access ramp that was completed in November 2018. An access road for the Guadalupe open pit is being prepared and stripping is scheduled to begin in Q4 2019.

Leagold has commenced a 24,000-metre drill program in the Guadalupe area to convert inferred resources to indicated resources and assess the potential to steepen pit slopes. These programs will potentially add to reserves and lower the overall strip ratio. A 12,750-metre step-out drill program was also initiated in the Los Filos underground mine to extend the mine life. The estimated cost of the Guadalupe and Los Filos drill programs and associated work is $7 million and is scheduled to be complete within eight months.

Leagold CEO Neil Woodyer commented: "At the mid-point of the year we are on track to meet our full-year production and cost guidance. In the first half we have sold just over 200,000 oz gold at AISC of $951 per oz. We have also launched the expansion of Los Filos which, together with the re-start of Santa Luz scheduled for 2021, is expected to take group production to 600,000-700,000 oz per year."

Table 2: Production and Costs for Q2 2019 and H1 2019 Compared to Q1 2019 and H1 2018

Table 3: Mine by Mine Production, Sales and Costs for Q2 2019

At the Los Filos mine complex in Mexico, Q2 2019 production and sales totalled 44,896 oz and 47,047 oz respectively, with associated revenue of $59.9 million and AISC of $916 per oz sold. Gold production and sales were 108,924 oz and 112,908 oz respectively in H1 2019, with associated revenue of $144.1 million and AISC of $846 per oz sold. The Los Filos underground mine is now producing over 1,950 tpd with costs below $76 per tonne of ore mined in H1 2019, compared to 1,350 tpd at $88 per tonne for H1 2018.

Management continues to focus on heap leach pad improvements at Los Filos. These include the ongoing program of lime addition and solution control, which maintains pH levels, reduces cyanide consumption, and improves recoveries. The separate stacking of high-grade underground ore also continues, which maximizes extraction and reduces lag time.

At the Fazenda mine in Brazil, Q2 2019 production totalled 17,692 oz, 5% lower than Q1 2019 due to a decrease in grade and recovery, partially offset by an increase in throughput. Gold sales were 18,268 oz in Q2 2019, with associated revenue of $23.3 million and AISC of $936 per oz sold. The increase in AISC compared to Q1 2019 ($808 per oz sold) was attributable to increased sustaining capital spending related to the commencement of the tailings dam raise. Fazenda produced 36,367 oz during the first six months of 2019. H1 gold sales were 37,195 oz with associated revenue of $47.6 million at AISC of $871 per oz sold.

At the RDM mine in Brazil, Q2 2019 production totalled 17,217 oz, a 24% improvement over Q1 2019 following the grid powerline connection at the end of the previous quarter. Gold sales were 17,087 oz in Q2 2019, with associated revenue of $21.8 million and AISC of $1,111 per oz sold – a 22% improvement over Q1 2019 due to higher throughput and recoveries. Further improvements are expected in H2 2019 as management focuses on increasing mining rates through improved availability of both the RDM fleet and the contractor fleet. RDM produced 31,052 oz during the first six months of 2019. H1 gold sales were 30,539 oz with associated revenue of $39.1 million at AISC of $1,247 per oz sold.

At the Pilar mine in Brazil, Q2 2019 production of 11,189 oz was a 19% improvement over Q1 2019 primarily due to higher equipment availability with the new haulage contractor. Under a new mine leadership team, mining and processing have both shown improvements. Gold sales were 11,485 oz in Q2 2019 compared to 9,307 oz in Q1 2019, with associated revenue of $14.8 million. Q2 2019 AISC of $1,103 per oz sold represented a 20% improvement over Q1 2019. During H1 2019, production totalled 20,600 oz. Gold sales were 20,792 oz with associated revenue of $26.7 million at AISC of $1,227 per oz sold.

Financial Results

During Q2 2019, Leagold reported total revenue of $120.2 million, earnings from mine operations of $18.6 million, and a net loss of $70.2 million, as detailed in Table 4.

Table 4: Financial Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2019 and 2018

During Q2 2019, Leagold recognized a provision of $63.5 million against its deferred income tax assets (a non-cash item) generated by its wholly owned Mexican subsidiary, DMSL, and attributable to multiple tax periods prior to and including 2017. The provision, which is a non-cash adjustment related to the deferred income tax assets, results from management's current understanding of the terms and impact of a tax settlement with the Mexican Tax Authorities. Leagold is continuing to review and assess the impact of the tax settlement and, in the interim, has recognized this provision. For further details see the Financial Results section on page 20 of Leagold's Management's Discussion and Analysis dated August 1, 2019, available on the Company's website at www.leagold.com and SEDAR.

Supporting Documents

Leagold's Q2 2019 financial statements and related MD&A are available on SEDAR and in the Investor Relations section of Leagold's website here.

Conference Call

A conference call and live webcast will be held on August 2, 2019 at 8am PDT/11am EDT. Participants may dial in to the call using the numbers below (no access code is needed).

Toll free Canada/US: 1-800-319-4610
International: +1-604-638-5340

The webcast can be accessed through the following link:
http://services.choruscall.ca/links/leagold20190802.html

The conference call will be available for playback until August 30, 2019 by dialling 1-800-319-6413 (toll free Canada/US) or +1-604-638-9010 (international), quoting access code 3401. The webcast playback will be available on Leagold's website here.

About Leagold Mining Corporation

Leagold is a mid-tier gold producer with a focus on opportunities in Latin America. Leagold is based in Vancouver, Canada and owns four operating gold mines in Mexico and Brazil, along with a near-term gold mine restart project in Brazil and an expansion project at the Los Filos mine complex in Mexico. Leagold is listed on the TSX under the trading symbol "LMC" and trades on the OTCQX market as "LMCNF".

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward looking information" or "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including without limitation, statements related to the planned commencement of construction of the access road for the Guadalupe open pit, the possibility of converting inferred resources to indicated resources, the potential addition to reserves and reduction of the strip ratio, estimated costs of drill programs, anticipated group production for 2019. The material factors or assumptions used to develop forward looking information or statements are disclosed throughout this document.

Forward looking information and forward looking statements, while based on management's best estimates and assumptions, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Leagold to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or forward looking statements, including but not limited to: fluctuations in prices of metals including gold; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, increases in market prices of mining consumables and other risks of the mining industry as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Description of the Business – Risk Factors" in Leagold's most recent AIF available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although Leagold has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information or statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information or statements. The Company has and continues to disclose in its Management's Discussion and Analysis and other publicly filed documents, changes to material factors or assumptions underlying the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements and to the validity of the information, in the period the changes occur. The forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are made as of the date hereof and Leagold disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information.

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SOURCE Leagold Mining Corporation

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