04:55 PM EDT, 04/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Atico Mining ( ATCMF ) Tuesday released its financial results for 2023, posting income from mining operations of US$7.4 million and a loss of US$5.8 million.

Production for the year at Atico's El Roble mine in Colombia totaled 13.2 million pounds of copper and 10,149 ounces of gold in concentrate at a cash cost of US$2.04 per payable pound of copper.

"We had a challenging year overall, with the first half of the year facing lower than expected head grades and lower throughput due to mechanical and operational issues, coupled with a significant appreciation in the Colombian Peso throughout the year which materially increased our costs. Despite these challenges the team did a great job getting El Roble mine back on track in the second half of the year to deliver just slightly below our annual guidance. This turnaround in operations and strong metal prices resulted in generation of good cash flows at the mine which were offset by a non-cash impairment charge recorded for the year," chief executive Fernando Ganoza said in a statement:

The 2023 loss is compared with a US$3.4 million loss for 2022. According to a company statement, the loss was primarily due to an impairment charge to mineral properties, in respect to certain regional exploration targets in Colombia of the El Roble's exploration & evaluation segment, and lower income from mining operations because of lower sales and higher production costs.

Sales for the year fell 12% to US$57.5 million, from US$65.2 million in 2022.

Sales during the year were impacted by lower quantities sold compared to 2022, according to the company.

"In 2024, we will continue looking at opportunities to optimize operating costs while investing in expanding the resource and reserves estimate at El Roble and extending its mine life. In parallel, the La Plata project continues to advance with the permitting process and the Feasibility Study which is nearing completion," said Ganoza.

The El Roble mine is a high grade, underground copper and gold mine with nominal processing plant capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day, located in the Department of Choco in Colombia.

Atico shares closed down C$0.005 to C$0.21 on the TSX Venture Exchange.