Shutdowns dull Northern Star shine

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Northern Star Resources has seen gold sales drop during the three months to September, but the company has maintained its outlook for the 2024 financial year.

Gold sales in the September quarter reached 369 000 oz, at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of A$1 939/oz, compared with the 426 000 oz produced in the previous quarter at an AISC of A$1 700/oz.

“During the quarter we safely and successfully completed major planned shutdowns at our three production centres. This provides a clear pathway for the company to achieve its full-year guidance, which as previously flagged is second-half weighted,” said Northern Star MD Stuart Tonkin.

“The Thunderbox mill continued to ramp up towards its six-million-tonne-a-year nameplate capacity, achieving record production performance. Offsetting this during the quarter, Jundee experienced unplanned crushing circuit downtime resulting in lower mill throughput. For Kalgoorlie Consolidate Gold Mines (KCGM), it was a transitional quarter as mining activity prepares to access higher grade material at Golden Pike North while processing focus remains on throughput and blend of available ore sources.

“Northern Star generated solid quarterly underlying free cash flow from our operations as our recently expanded production centres - Yandal and Pogo - offset KCGM, where we have begun Mill Expansion capital works. Our focus remains steadfast on operational excellence to maximise free cash generation.”

During the quarter under review, production from the Kalgoorlie operations dropped from 224 368 oz in the previous quarter to 182 869 oz, while Yandal production increased slightly from 121 872 oz to 124 654 oz. Gold production from Pogo fell from 80 029 oz to 61 649 oz.

For the full 2024 financial year, Northern Star is maintaining its production outlook of between 1.6-million and 1.75-million ounces of gold sold at an AISC of between A$1 730/oz and A$1 790/oz.

The company has also maintained its growth capital budget of between A$1.15-billion and A$1.125-billion, and its exploration budget of around A$150-million.

The KCGM Mill Expansion project will increase the project’s capacity from 13-million tonnes a year to 27-million tonnes a year by the 2027 financial year, and the project is expected to operate at 650 000 oz/y by the 2026 financial year, increasing to around 900 000 oz/y from 2029, following a two-year ramp-up period.