AuRico Metals Reports 2016 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results and Provides 2017 Outlook

Toronto (ots/PRNewswire) -

AuRico Metals Inc. (TSX: AMI), ("AuRico" or the "Company") today
reported its financial results for the quarter and year ended
December 31, 2016. For complete details of the Financial Statements
and associated Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year
ended December 31, 2016, please see the Company's filings on SEDAR
(http://www.sedar.com) or the Company's website
(http://www.auricometals.ca). All amounts are in US dollars unless
otherwise indicated.

Recent Highlights

- During 2016, recognized royalty revenue of $8.1 million, an
increase of $3.8 million (or 88%) over royalty revenue in 2015.
Total royalty revenue was at the high end of the Company's
guidance;
- During Q4 2016, recognized royalty revenue of $2.2 million, an
increase of $0.7 million (or 47%) from Q4 2015;
- On February 10, 2017, the final Environmental Assessment ("EA")
public comment period concluded. The Company expects a final
decision regarding the issuance of an EA Certificate around the end
of the first quarter of 2017;
- On January 12, 2017, the British Columbia Environmental Assessment
Office ("EAO") released its draft Assessment Report for the Kemess
Underground project, which concludes that the project would not
result in significant adverse effects;
- In January 2017, the Company announced an updated mineral resource
estimate for the Kemess East deposit, including a 73.9 million
tonne, or 188%, increase in the Indicated resource;
- In December 2016, the Company announced an agreement to acquire
Kiska Metals Inc. The acquisition is expected to close during the
first week of March;
- In November 2016, completed the acquisitions of royalties on the
GJ, GJ Northern Block, Red Lake and Madsen area properties; and
- The Company reported $11.6 million in cash and $10.8 million in
working capital, excluding inventories, at December 31, 2016.

Commenting on the results, Chris Richter, President and CEO
stated, "I am proud of what the AuRico Metals team accomplished in
our first full calendar year of existence. At our wholly-owned Kemess
property in British Columbia we released a positive Feasibility Study
for the Kemess Gold-Copper Underground Project and are expecting a
final decision regarding our Environmental Assessment certificate
very soon. In parallel we issued a resource update for Kemess East
showing a 188% increase in Indicated resource tonnes. On the royalty
side of our business revenues increased by 88% when compared to the
prior year and we executed a number of accretive acquisitions. We
look forward to building on this progress in 2017."

Operations Update

Royalties

During the three months and year ended December 31, 2016, the
Company recognized revenues from the following royalty assets:

Latest Annual
(in millions) Q4 2016 2016 Annual
Guidance
Fosterville 2% NSR royalty $1.1 $3.7
$3.4 - $3.5
Young-Davidson 1.5% NSR royalty $0.8 $3.3
$3.3 - $3.4
Other royalties $0.3 $1.1
$1.0 - $1.2
Total $2.2 $8.1
$7.7 - $8.1

The Company recognized royalty revenue of $2.2 million during Q4
2016, compared to the same quarter of the prior year when $1.5
million in royalty revenue was recognized. The increase in revenue
is primarily due to an increase in production at Fosterville and an
increase in the average gold price during the period. Fosterville
revenues were approximately $0.4 million higher than in the prior
year, and Young-Davidson revenues were approximately $0.2 million
higher than in the prior year.

Kemess Underground

On January 11, 2017, the draft Assessment Report and conditions
were made available on the website of the EAO and the final 30-day
public comment period commenced. The draft Assessment Report
concludes that the Kemess Underground Project would not result in
significant adverse effects. The final public comment period ended
February 10, 2017 and the report will now be finalized and sent for
ministerial decision. The EAO is managing the Environmental
Assessment in a Substituted Process on behalf of British Columbia and
the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. The Company expects a
final decision regarding the issuance of an EA Certificate around the
end of the first quarter of 2017.

During the fourth quarter, the Company continued to advance
permitting activities, including permit preparation, drafting
management plans for the Kemess Underground Project, as well as
coordination with regulators.

Kemess East

On January 13, 2017, the Company announced an updated resource for
the Kemess East project. The Company plans to provide further
updates relating to Kemess East as the year progresses.

Near-Term Corporate Objectives

The Company's objectives over the next several months include:

- Ministers decision on Kemess Underground EA Certificate (end of Q1
2017);
- Progress permitting and detailed engineering for Kemess Underground
project;
- Update on Kemess East deposit (Q2 2017);
- Completion of the Kiska acquisition (Q1 2017); and
- Pursue accretive royalty acquisition opportunities.

2017 Outlook

AuRico Metals' goal is to deliver sustained value creation for the
Company's many stakeholders. We will look to continue to create
shareholder value by permitting the Kemess Underground project,
advancing the Kemess East project, and through accretive royalty
acquisitions. The section below contains forward looking information;
please refer to the Company's cautionary note regarding forward
looking statements.

The Company is providing the following outlook for 2017, based on
a gold price assumption of $1,250/oz and a 0.75 CAD to USD exchange
rate:

2017
2016 2016
(in millions) Guidance
Results Guidance
Royalty revenues (pre-tax) $8.0 to $8.4
$8.1 $7.7 to $8.1
General and administrative expense, excluding
stock-based compensation $3.0
$3.1 $3.0
Care and maintenance expense $4.0
$4.4 $4.5
Kemess Underground capital expenditures $5.5 to $6.0
$3.5 $3.0 to $3.8
Kemess East capital expenditures $0.6
$4.9 $4.9

About AuRico Metals

AuRico Metals is a mining development and royalty company with a
100% interest in the Kemess property in British Columbia, Canada. The
Kemess property hosts the feasibility-stage Kemess Underground
Gold-Copper project, the Kemess East exploration project, and the
infrastructure pertaining to the past producing Kemess South mine.
AuRico's royalty portfolio includes a 1.5% NSR royalty on the
Young-Davidson Gold Mine and a 2% NSR royalty on the Fosterville
Mine, as well as a portfolio of additional producing and
pre-production royalty assets located in North America and Australia.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information as defined under Canadian and U.S.
securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical
fact, are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. The
words "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "will", "intend",
"estimate", "forecast", "budget" and similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include
statements related to the Company's outlook and key deliverables for
Kemess over the next year. These statements are based on a number of
factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by
management at the time of making such statements, are inherently
subject to significant business, economic and competitive
uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could
cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and the
factors and assumptions underlying them in this document include, but
are not limited to:

- Royalty revenue guidance may be impacted by the performance of the
Young-Davidson, Fosterville, Hemlo and Eagle River mines.
Management has based its revenue assumptions on the latest guidance
provided by the operators of these assets, but there is uncertainty
as to whether operators will achieve stated production guidance.
Royalty revenue is also based on an assumed gold price of $1,250
per ounce. The Company's gold price assumption may be inaccurate;
every $50 change in gold price assumption impacts pre-tax revenue
by approximately $0.4 million.
- General and administrative expense guidance may be impacted by
changes in foreign exchange rates, employee relations, litigation,
the acquisition of Kiska, time spent by officers and employees on
general and administrative activities, and business opportunities
that may be pursued by the Company.
- Care and maintenance expense guidance may be impacted by changes in
foreign exchange rates, employee relations, electricity rates in
British Columbia, weather in the region surrounding the Kemess
site, equipment reliability, extent of powerline brushing required,
if any, to optimally maintain the powerline, quality of service
received by vendors and consultants, and the price of consumables.
- Kemess underground capital expenditures are at the Company's
discretion and will be impacted by changes in foreign exchange
rates, the number of comments or questions raised by First Nations
partners and Government during the review of project permits,
additional studies required in order to address concerns raised and
the results of those studies, quality of service received by
consultants, the extent of which early construction activities can
be commenced at Kemess Underground during 2017, optimization
efforts by management, and credit market conditions and conditions
in financial markets generally.
- Kemess east capital expenditures are at the Company's discretion
and will be impacted by changes in foreign exchange rates, quality
of service received by consultants, and the extent of any
additional drilling conducted at Kemess East in 2017, if any.

The Company has made forward-looking statements relating to
corporate objectives and key deliverables over the next 12 months,
including permitting, timing of regulatory decisions relating to
permitting and the EA, commencement of detailed engineering, the
Company's ability to fund forecasted cash shortfalls, the Company's
ability to create value for shareholders, sufficiency of working
capital for future commitments, the expected release of further
updates on Kemess East, and other statements that express
management's expectations or estimates of future performance.

Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may
differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements contained herein. Such statements are
based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect,
including assumptions about: business and economic conditions;
commodity prices and the price of key inputs such as labour, fuel and
electricity; credit market conditions and conditions in financial
markets generally; development schedules and the associated costs;
ability to procure equipment and supplies and on a timely basis; the
timing and ability to obtain permits and other approvals for projects
and operations including provincial and federal approval of the
environmental assessment application; the ability to attract and
retain skilled employees and contractors for the operations; the
accuracy of reserve and resource estimates; the impact of changes in
currency exchange rates on costs and results; interest rates;
taxation; and ongoing relations with employees and business partners.
The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable law.

Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance. All of the forward-looking
statements made in this press release are qualified by these
cautionary statements.

Other information

The technical information disclosed in this press release relating
to the Kemess Underground project, Kemess East project and the
Company's material royalty properties, being the Young-Davidson and
Fosterville NSR royalties, has been approved by Mr. John Fitzgerald,
an officer of the Company, who is a qualified person within the
meaning of National Instrument 43-101.

please visit the AuRico Metals website at
http://www.auricometals.ca or contact: Chris Richter, President and
Chief Executive Officer, AuRico Metals Inc., +1-416-216-2780,
chris.richter@auricometals.ca ; David Flahr, Vice President, Finance,
AuRico Metals Inc., +1-416-216-2780, david.flahr@auricometals.ca

ots Originaltext: AuRico Metals Inc.
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