JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – LSE- and TSX-listed gold miner Centamin’s Sukari mine, in Egypt, produced 148 674 oz of gold in the quarter ended September 30, representing a 6% quarter-on-quarter and a 41% year-on-year increase.
CEO Andrew Pardey on Wednesday said the company had delivered another “solid quarter” from the Sukari operation, bringing year-to-date production to 414 249 oz of gold.
He noted that ore throughput rates at the mine’s processing operation were stable at 2 806 t, but down 4% on the previous quarter’s 2 929 t. Pardey said the company was consolidating the improvements delivered over previous quarters and had remained above its base case forecast rate of 11-million tons a year.
Sukari’s openpit operation total material movement (ore plus waste) increased by 7% quarter-on-quarter to 16 191 t. Openpit ore production decreased by 14% quarter-on-quarter to 2 936 t at an average mined grade of 1.06 g/t.
The average head grade to the plant from the openpit was 1.14 g/t. The run-of-mine ore stockpile balance increased by 157 t to 1 169 t.
Sukari’s underground operation delivered 255 t of ore, in line with the previous quarter, at an average mined grade of 9 g/t. Productivity remained above Centamin’s forecast rate of one-million tons a year at 6 g/t. Additionally, ore from stoping was 153 t at 8.8 g/t and ore from development was 103 t at 9.2 g/t.
“We expect full-year 2016 production to be towards the upper end of our guidance of between 520 000 oz and 540 000 oz,” Pardey stated.
Edited by: Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online
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