Geomark Exploration Ltd. (Geomark or the Company) (TSX VENTURE:GME) is pleased to announce its operating and financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011. The quarterly report is summarized in this release, with the complete version of the related condensed consolidated financial statements and notes, as well as management’s discussion and analysis, available on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com and on Geomark’s website at www.geomark.ca
Highlights
As at and for the three months ended
March 31, 2011
December 31, 2010 Restated (1)
March 31, 2010 Restated (1)
Financial ($ 000s, except $ per share)
Revenue
Mineral Division 175 179 70
Oil and Gas Division 414 443 573
Funds Flow (2) 122 300 204
Per Share Basic (3) 0.00 0.01 0.00
Per Share Diluted (3) 0.00 0.01 0.00
Cash Flow (Deficiency) from Operations (162) (1) 23
Per Share Basic (3) (0.00) (0.00) 0.00
Per Share Diluted (3) (0.00) (0.00) 0.00
Net Earnings (Loss) (27) 186 (166)
Per Share Basic (3) (0.00) 0.00 (0.00)
Per Share Diluted (3) (0.00) 0.00 (0.00)
Capital Expenditures
Mineral Division 677 179 –
Oil and Gas Division 4 8 157
Total Assets
Mineral Division 40,826 40,382 30,843
Oil and Gas Division 13,320 12,641 9,991
Oil and Gas Operations
Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE)
per day (4) 139 125 161
(1) The comparative highlights have been restated with the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
(2) Funds flow is not a recognized measure under IFRS. For these purposes, the Company defines funds flow as funds provided by operations after including investment dividend and interest income and the changes in non-cash investing working capital related to these sources of investment income.
(3) Geomark issued one common share upon incorporation on April 20, 2010, and on July 6, 2010 issued 52,039,760 common shares as consideration for the net investment in Geomark Operations with an ascribed net book value of $21,152,000 as at December 31, 2009 and cancelled the original common share. For purposes of the per share calculations, it was assumed that all 52,039,760 shares issued have been outstanding since January 1, 2010.
(4) Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE) are calculated using a conversion ratio of 6 MCF to 1 barrel of oil. The conversion is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead and as such may be misleading if used in isolation.
Operational and Financial Highlights
– Geomark is a publicly traded mineral exploration company that emerged from Comaplex Minerals Corp. (Comaplex) following the successful July 2010 sale of Comaplex’s five million ounce Meliadine gold deposit to Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (Agnico-Eagle).
– Geomark is well-financed with proven management, experienced staff, a large cash position, and immediate cash flow from its oil and gas and investment assets. The history of success and proven capabilities of the Geomark team will assist in advancing the Company. The entire Comaplex exploration team is now employed by Geomark.
– Geomark’s assets include:
— Working capital and investments of approximately $52 million (which includes a short-term $20 million loan to Bonterra Energy Corp.);
— Mineral properties located in Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut;
— Oil and gas properties located primarily in the Harmattan area of south-western Alberta; and
— Oil and gas properties, dividends and interest income are projected to generate annual income of approximately $2.5 million.
– In the latter half of 2010, Geomark completed the consolidation of all eight of its currently held Timmins area gold properties (interests now ranging from 90 to 100 percent). The Timmins assets are relatively small properties that have undergone varying degrees of exploration over the years. The majority of the historical drilling on the Carr Wilkie, Thorneloe, and Deloro properties has been within 350 metres of surface; however, some of the recent gold discoveries in the Timmins area by other companies have been at considerable depths (below 500 metres from surface). Geomark is presently targeting the deeper, down-dip extensions of the known mineralized trends on its Ontario properties.
– In November 2010, the Company commenced geophysical surveys (Titan 24 DC/IP and MT resistivity surveys) on four of the Timmins area assets – Thorneloe, Deloro, Carr-Wilkie and Cody Nighthawk. The surveys were completed in the first quarter of 2011 and IP anomalies were obtained on three of the four properties.
– Based on the results of the surveys and a review of previous geological information, a 4,000 metre diamond drilling program commenced in March 2011 on two of these properties – one of which is in the currently active West Timmins area near the Lake Shore Gold Corp. properties. Three drill holes totaling 1,687 metres were completed on the Carr-Wilkie property. The Company is presently compiling the results, but has been hampered by very slow sample turnaround at the lab.
– Four drill holes, approximately 2,600 metres, are planned on the Thorneloe property. To date, two of the four holes (1,392 metres) have been completed. The program is ongoing and results will be released as they are received and verified. The drill program will be extended if results warrant it. The other Ontario properties are in the process of further review and should the results be positive, further work, including geophysics and diamond drilling, will be completed on them as quickly as possible.
– Geomark’s exploration activities and G&A expenses will be funded from its existing working capital, income from its investments, interest income and from its oil and natural gas operations.
– Geomark’s business strategy also includes the acquisition of additional mineral interests from unrelated third parties through option/joint venture agreements and/or acquisitions. Gold and precious metals prices have continued to remain strong and this higher pricing environment has made the acquisitions market more expensive and competitive; however, serious effort continues to be spent in actively assessing and pursuing new precious metal properties that can be added to the Company’s portfolio. Geomark’s team has done general reviews of a large number of plays and numerous properties have been examined in detail. The search has been concentrated in Canada and the United States, but properties in all countries with mining friendly jurisdictions are being considered. The Company remains optimistic that additional opportunities will develop in the near-term.
– Geomark was pleased to welcome Robb D. Thompson to the Company in February 2011 as Vice President, Finance. Mr. Thompson now holds the position of Chief Financial Officer and Secretary.
– As a final comment, the first quarter 2011’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and Financial Statements along with the notes thereto, are reported under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It is mandatory that all Canadian publically accountable enterprises prepare their financial statements in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (Canadian GAAP) revised to incorporate new accounting standards under IFRS. This change in accounting principles significantly affected certain financial information and disclosures from past financial reporting of the Company and may be confusing to Geomark’s shareholders. Reporting under IFRS will result in Canadian Standards now being more aligned with European and Australian accounting standards and away from previous Canadian principles and present United States principles. IFRS permits companies to be flexible with their reporting and this may result in making it more difficult to compare Canadian companies with each other, or in some instances, cross border reporting Canadian companies with their U.S. peers. This change may be regressive for Canadian investors and companies and it may have been better if the change had been delayed to coincide with a U.S. conversion.
– Geomark will ensure that appropriate disclosures and discussions are provided in the MD&A and the financial statements to assist shareholders, analysts and other parties with their respective evaluations and has provided additional information in the above “Highlights” section to assist readers with their reviews.
Cautionary Statement
This summarized news release should not be considered a suitable source of information for readers who are unfamiliar with Geomark Exploration Ltd. and should not be considered in any way as a substitute for reading the full report.
For the full report, please go to www.geomark.ca
Use of non-IFRS financial measures
Included in this press release we use the term “funds flow” to analyze the Company’s operating performance. Funds flow is not a standardized measure recognized under IFRS and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. This funds flow calculation is considered by management to be informative for shareholders and analysts. This measure may differ from those made by other companies and accordingly may not be comparable to such measures as reported by other companies.
Geomark’s funds flow is calculated by adding investment dividend and interest income and the changes in non-cash investing working capital related to these sources of investment income to cash flow (deficiency) from operating activities.
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