VANCOUVER, BC, April 30, 2024 /CNW/ - Luca Mining Corp. ("Luca" or the "Company") (TSXV:LUCA) (OTCQX:LUCMF) (Frankfurt: Z68) is pleased to announce financial results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Production Fourth Quarter 2023 Total production amounted to 11,808 ounces of gold equivalent ("AuEq"), which was comprised of 3,155 ounces of gold, 155,763 ounces of silver, 2,730 tonnes of zinc, 671 tonnes of copper and 558 tonnes of lead. Out of the total production for Q4, Campo Morado accounted for 8,658 gold equivalent ounces, which is approximately 73% of the total production. Tahuehueto contributed 3,150 ounces of equivalent gold, representing 27% of the total production. The Company's two plants processed a consolidated 130,210 tonnes of ore with average grades of 1.40 grams per tonne ("g/t") for gold, 75.63 g/t for silver, 2.49%, 0.64% and 0.68% per tonne for zinc copper and lead respectively. Overall, grades increased by 52%, 16%, and 36%, for gold, silver and copper respectively, while grades for zinc and lead decreased by 9% and 1% respectively, over Q4 2022. Metallurgical recoveries improved substantially over the fourth quarter 2022, averaging 53.8% for gold, 49.2% for silver, 84.1% for zinc, 80.2% for copper and 62.6% for lead Cash Cost was US$1,244 per AuEq ounce and All In Sustaining Cost ("AISC") was US$1,437 per AuEq ounce a decrease of 6% and 4% decrease respectively from Q3 2024. Production cost increase slightly to $78 per tonne in Q4 2023 from $77 per tonne in Q3 2023, a 1% increase. Ramon Perez , President, and Interim CEO, commented, " I am pleased to share some exciting updates regarding our recent financial performance and production milestones. As we reflect on Q4 2023 results, it's evident that our optimization initiatives at Campo Morado are yielding promising results. Additionally, despite being in the construction phase at Tahuehueto, we are already observing the early fruits of our labor. We recently released our Q1 2024 production of 14,148 ounces of gold equivalent compared to 11,808 ounces of gold equivalent in Q4 2023 and can see the results of our hard work materializing. The momentum at Tahuehueto remains strong as we continue to progress towards our ambitious goal of reaching 1,000 tons per day in commercial production. Furthermore, the optimization program at Campo Morado is advancing rapidly, further enhancing our operational efficiency. Looking ahead, we anticipate that the positive trajectory observed in Q4 2023 and in Q1 2024 will persist throughout the second quarter and the remainder of the 2024 year. These developments affirm our commitment to driving growth and shareholder value creation." Full Year 2023 Total production amounted to 55,719 ounces of gold equivalent, which comprised 11,832 ounces of gold, 688,125 ounces of silver, 15,243 tonnes of zinc, 2,618 tonnes of copper and 2,688 tonnes of lead. Campo Morado accounted for 43,089 gold equivalent ounces, which is approximately 77% of total production. The Company's two plants processed a consolidated 665,132 tonnes of ore with average grades of 1.29 g/t for gold, 75.46 g/t for silver, 2.85%, 0.59% and 0.74% per tonne for zinc, copper and lead respectively. Overall, grades increased by 49%, 20%, 2%, for gold, copper and lead respectively and decreased for for zinc and silver by 7% and 4%, respectively, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. Metallurgical recoveries for the 2023 year improved substantially over the 2022 year, averaging at 33.2% for gold, 46.3% for silver, 80.4% for zinc, 66.6% for copper and 54.3% for lead.     CONSOLIDATED Year Ended December 31 2023 December 31 2022 Change 2023 vs 2022 Operating Tonnes milled 665,132 787,344 (16 %) Gold produced (oz) 11,832 5,994 97 % Silver produced (oz) 688,126 787,540 (13 %) Zinc produced (tonnes) 15,243 17,958 (15 %) Copper produced (tonnes) 2,618 2,157 21 % Lead produced (tonnes) 2,688 2,479 8 % AuEq produced (oz) (1) 55,719 57,377 (3 %) Gold sold (oz) 9,951 2,790 257 % Silver sold (oz) 495,527 499,326 (1 %) Zinc sold (tonnes) 11,148 13,290 (16 %) Copper sold (tonnes) 1,697 1,009 68 % Lead sold (tonnes) 803 739 9 % Au/Eq sold (oz) (1) 39,645 36,212 9 % Cost per tonne ($US)(7) 65 50 1 % Cash cost per Au/Eq ounce ($US) (1)(2) 1,219 1,082 13 % AISC per Au/Eq ounce ($US) (1)(3) 1,405 1,286 9 % Financial $ $ Net Revenue 68,275 59,208 15 % Cost of Sales 66,806 56,201 19 % Mine operating profit 1,469 3,007 (51 %) Mine operating cashflow before taxes(6) 5,497 5,458 1 % Net loss (14,996) (11,607) 29 % EBITDA(4) (6,426) (4,777) 35 % Adjusted EBITDA(4) (5,665) (4,547) 25 % Realized gold price per ounce ($US) (5) 1,958 2,114 (7 %) Realized silver price per ounce ($US) (5) 23.37 20.89 12 % Realized zinc price per tonne ($US) (5) 2,514 3,245 (23 %) Realized copper price per tonne ($US) (5) 8,394 8,224 2 % Realized lead price per tonne ($US) (5) 2,093 2,210 (5 %) Working capital(7) (50,716) (46,275) 10 % Shareholders Loss per share – basic and diluted (0.15) (0.34) (68 %) Weighted average shares outstanding 103,556,634 34,157,486 334 % 1. Gold equivalents are calculated using an 83.02:1 (Ag/Au), 0.0006:1 (Au/Zn), 0.002:1 (Au/Cu) and 0.0005:1 (Au/Pb) ratio for 2023; and 83.49:1 (Ag/Au), 0.0008:1 (Au/Zn), 0.002:1 (Au/Cu) and 0.0005:1 (Au/Pb)ratio for 2022, respectively. 2. Cash cost per gold equivalent ounce include mining, processing, and direct overhead. See Reconciliation to IFRS on page 24 of the MD&A and below in this news release. 3. AlSC per Au/Eq oz include mining, processing, direct overhead, corporate general and administration expenses, on-site exploration, reclamation and sustaining capital. See Reconciliation to IFRS on page 24 of the MD&A and below in this news release. 4. See Reconciliation of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization on page 24. of the MD&A and below in this news release. 5. Based on provisional sales before final price adjustments, treatment, and refining charges. 6. Mine operating cash flow before taxes is calculated by adding back depreciation, and depletion to mine operating profit (loss). See Reconciliation to IFRS on page 23 of the MD&A and below in this news release. 7. See Reconciliation to IFRS on page 24 of the MD&A and below in this news release. Ramon Perez, President and Interim CEO, further commented, "We had a year of transformational achievements at our operations –and this has set the stage for transformational financial growth in 2024 and beyond. We are already seeing excellent growth in revenues and cash flow. Last year was a building year. We implemented a planned reduction in throughput at Campo Morado to carry out the CMIP and we continued to build out Tahuehueto. As the Company completes these projects, and ramps up production toward the end of 2024 and into 2025, the Company expects costs to decrease on a per tonne basis. We have an exciting new chapter ahead of us." About Luca Mining Corp. Luca Mining (TSXV:LUCA, OTCQX:LUCMF, Frankfurt: Z68)) is a diversified Canadian mining company with two 100%-owned producing mines in Mexico. The Company produces gold, copper, zinc, silver and lead from these mines that each have considerable development and resource upside.  The Campo Morado mine, is an underground operation located in Guerrero State, a prolific mining region in Mexico. It produces copper-zinc-lead concentrates with precious metals credits. It is currently undergoing an optimisation program which is already generating significant improvements in recoveries and grades, efficiencies, and cashflows. The Tahuehueto Gold, Silver Mine is a new underground operation in Durango State, Mexico, within the Sierra Madre Mineral Belt which hosts numerous producing and historic mines along its trend. The Company is commissioning its mill ...