Richmont Reports Third Quarter Operational Results; Island Gold Completes a 25-Day Electrical Mill Upgrade and Remains On-Track to Meet, or Exceed, Revised Guidance

TORONTO, Oct. 13, 2016

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE THIRD QUARTER

• The Island Gold Mine produced 14,031 ounces of gold (13,673 ounces sold), in-line with plan, as lower production was forecasted for the quarter due to required downtime related to the scheduled mine and mill electrical upgrade. The Island Gold Mine remains on track to meet, or exceed, revised production guidance for the year.
• Company-wide production was 18,856 ounces of gold (17,774 ounces sold) for the quarter, which positions the Corporation to achieve revised company-wide production guidance for the year.
• Cash costs¹ for the Island Gold Mine were $958 per ounce (US$734 per ounce), in-line with plan, as lower production was anticipated for the quarter due to the 25-day mill shutdown to complete the electrical upgrade. Cash costs for the Island Gold Mine remain on track to meet, or exceed, revised guidance for the year.
• Company-wide cash costs for the quarter were $1,063 per ounce (US$815 per ounce), in-line with revised guidance.
• Revenues for the quarter were $31.2 million (US$23.9 million), at an average realized gold price of $1,754 per ounce (US$1,344 per ounce).
• Richmont ended the quarter with a reduced cash balance of $78.9 million (US$60.1 million), in-line with plan due to lower production and higher cash costs related to the 25-day mill shutdown as well as higher capital investment requirements as anticipated for the quarter.
• On September 12, 2016, the Corporation announced positive revisions to its 2016 operational guidance driven by significantly better than expected performance from the Island Gold Mine in the first six months of the year.

"The third quarter was a pivotal quarter for the Island Gold Mine as a strategic electrical upgrade was successfully completed, which now positions this core asset for potential future production growth and improved reliability. Following the upgrade, mill and underground mine productivities have returned to target levels and we expect to deliver improved performance and higher grades during the fourth quarter as we begin to develop in ore in the higher-grade third mining horizon." stated Renaud Adams, CEO. He continued, "At the Beaufor Mine, after a difficult transition to the Q Zone, we expect to deliver higher production and lower costs during the fourth quarter as we increase the proportion of stope mining in the higher grade Q Zone and process the 6,000 tonnes of broken ore that remained in inventory at the end of the quarter."

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¹ Refer to the Non-IFRS Performance Measures disclosure presented at the end of this press release.

THIRD QUARTER OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Third quarter operational highlights for the Island Gold and Beaufor mines are provided in the tables below:

Production Highlights