Detour Gold Provides 2016 Guidance

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan 25, 2016) - Detour Gold Corp. (TSX:DGC) ("Detour Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce operational and financial guidance for 2016 for its Detour Lake mine located in northeastern Ontario. All dollar amounts are in US dollars unless otherwise stated. C$ refers to Canadian dollars.

Paul Martin, President and CEO of Detour Gold stated, "The Detour Lake mine is expected to have a second strong year of production growth with a further decline in costs as optimization of the operation continues. Building on the momentum of 2015, gold production is expected to increase by 12% and all-in sustaining costs to decline by 15% using the mid-point of the guidance."

2016 Guidance

The Company's guidance for 2016 is as follows:

Gold production is estimated to be between 540,000 and 590,000 ounces for the full year and to range from 125,000 to 150,000 ounces on a quarterly basis.

The mine plan calls for between 90 and 100 million tonnes (Mt) to be mined from the Detour Lake pit. The average waste to ore ratio for the year is estimated at 3.3:1. There are specific months during the year where this strip ratio will be above the life of mine pit average and stripping costs will be capitalized.

The Detour Lake operation is forecast to process in excess of 20 Mt of ore in 2016. Although the 2016 mine production plan does not include the processing of fines from the low grade stockpiles ("LG Fines"), the Company may decide to implement this process.

To improve plant performance, the 410-conveyor system will be modified. The modification will consist of separating the conveyor into two units and increasing the capacity from 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes per operating hour.

Sustaining capital expenditures for the Detour Lake mine are expected to total between $60 and $70 million in 2016 and include $30 million for tailings construction, $15 million for mining equipment, $10 million for the processing plant, and $10 million for infrastructure and other items. Capitalized stripping is estimated to be between $5 and $10 million for 2016. Additionally, the Company is expected to incur non-sustaining expenditures of $8 million for the development of West Detour (formerly Block A).

The 2016 corporate general and administrative expense is estimated at $25 million, which includes shared-based compensation (non-cash) charges of $4 million. The Company expects to record interest expense and pay interest costs of approximately $30 million in 2016.

The total exploration budget for the Detour Lake property is approximately $12 million, of which $8 to $10 million is non-sustaining expenditures for definition drilling of Zone 58N (Lower Detour), an underground high grade gold target located 6 kilometers south of the Detour Lake processing plant. The balance is considered sustaining and will be used to explore other targets on the property.

The guidance for all-in sustaining costs is $840 to $940 per ounce sold. Due to the variability of gold production and the timing of capital expenditures, the Company expects there will be quarters where actual all-in sustaining costs will be outside of the yearly guidance.

The following price and cost assumptions were used to forecast the 2016 guidance: gold price of $1,075/oz, US dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate of $1.33, diesel fuel price of C$0.75 per litre and power cost of C$0.04 per kilowatt hour.

Technical Information

The scientific and technical content of this news release was reviewed, verified and approved by Drew Anwyll, P.Eng., Senior Vice President, Technical Services, a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Detour Gold

Detour Gold is an intermediate gold producer in Canada that holds a 100% interest in the Detour Lake mine, a long life large-scale open pit operation.

Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures

The Company has included certain non-IFRS measures in this news release. The Company believes that these measures, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, provide investors an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. The non-IFRS measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore may not be comparable to other issuers.

Total cash costs

Detour Gold reports total cash costs on a sales basis. Total cash costs include production costs such as mining, processing, refining and site administration, agreements with Aboriginal communities, less non-cash share-based compensation and net of silver sales divided by gold ounces sold to arrive at total cash costs per gold ounce sold. The measure also includes other mine related costs incurred such as mine standby costs and current inventory write downs. Production costs are exclusive of depreciation and depletion. Production costs include the costs associated with providing the royalty in kind ounces.

All-in sustaining costs

The Company believes this measure more fully defines the total costs associated with producing gold. The Company calculates all-in sustaining costs as the sum of total cash costs (as described above), share-based compensation, corporate general and administrative expense, exploration and evaluation expenses that are sustaining in nature, reclamation cost accretion (also known as unwinding of the discount on decommissioning and restoration provisions), sustaining capital including deferred stripping, and realized gains and losses on hedges due to operating and capital costs, all divided by the total gold ounces sold to arrive at a per ounce figure.

Other companies may calculate this measure differently as a result of differences in underlying principles and policies applied. Differences may also arise to a different definition of sustaining versus non-sustaining capital.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain forward-looking information as defined in applicable securities laws (referred to herein as "forward-looking statements"). Specifically, this press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Detour Lake mine having a second strong year of production growth with a further decline in costs; gold production increasing by 12% and all-in sustaining costs declining by 15% based on the mid-point of the guidance; gold production of between 540,000 and 590,000 ounces and ranging from 125,000 to 150,000 ounces of gold on a quarterly basis; total cash costs per ounce of gold sold of between $675 and $750; all-in sustaining costs per ounce of gold sold of between $840 and $940; between 90 and 100 Mt being mined from the Detour Lake pit; an average waste to ore ratio of 3.3:1 and there being months where the strip ratio will be above the average strip ratio; the Detour Lake operation processing in excess of 20 Mt of ore; the Company commencing the processing of LG Fines; the modification of the 410-conveyor system; sustaining capital expenditures for the Detour Lake mine of between $60 and $70 million; capitalized stripping of $5 to $10 million; the Company incurring non-sustaining expenditures of $8 million for the development of West Detour; a corporate general and administrative expense of $25 million; an interest expense and payment of interest costs of $30 million; $8 to $10 million of non-sustaining expenditures for definition drilling of Zone 58N (Lower Detour).

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are beyond Detour Gold's ability to predict or control and may cause Detour Gold's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any of its future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, gold price volatility, changes in debt and equity markets, the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data, increases in costs, environmental compliance and changes in environmental legislation and regulation, interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations, general economic conditions and other risks involved in the gold exploration and development industry, as well as those risk factors discussed in the section entitled "Description of Business - Risk Factors" in Detour Gold's 2014 AIF and in the continuous disclosure documents filed by Detour Gold on and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Such forward-looking statements are also based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions about the following: the availability of financing for exploration and development activities; operating and capital costs; the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled staff; the mine development schedule; sensitivity to metal prices and other sensitivities; the supply and demand for, and the level and volatility of the price of, gold; timing of the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals for development projects and other operations; the supply and availability of consumables and services; the exchange rates of the Canadian dollar to the U.S. dollar; energy and fuel costs; the accuracy of reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions on which the reserve and resource estimates are based; market competition; ongoing relations with employees and impacted communities and general business and economic conditions. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date hereof, or such other date or dates specified in such statements. Detour Gold undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Contact

Detour Gold
Paul Martin
President and CEO
(416) 304.0800
Detour Gold
Laurie Gaborit
Director Investor Relations
(416) 304.0581