Strong production and cost reduction deliver record cash for Northern Star

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Australian gold miner Northern Star Resources recorded gold sales of 134 110 oz in the June quarter, bringing total sales for the year to 561 153 oz.

This is in line with the company’s top quartile of its guidance range of 535 000 oz to 570 000 oz.

Northern Star on Wednesday reported all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for the June quarter of A$1 056/oz and for the full year of A$1 041/oz. This was below the guidance range of A$1 050/oz to A$1 100/oz, reflecting substantial productivity gains and cost reductions achieved during the year.

The miner said it would advance its strategy to grow production to 700 000 oz/y by 2018.

The “consistently strong production” and cost reduction strategy further delivered record underlying free cash flow of A$224.2-million for the year to June 30.

The result was an increase of 21% on the previous year and came after an “outstanding” June quarter in which free underlying cash flow totalled A$64-million. The strong free cash flow saw Northern Star end the year with A$326-million in cash and equivalents, up from A$178-million a year earlier.

This increase was despite the company spending A$11-million on acquiring the Central Tanami project, from Tanami Gold, paying A$36-million in dividends and investing A$50-million in exploration over the year.

Northern Star spent A$13-million on its drilling and exploration programme in the quarter, taking this total to A$50-million for the financial year.

MD Bill Beament commented that the results demonstrated the “outstanding financial returns” that Northern Star generated.

“Our production is consistently strong, our cost reduction strategy continues to deliver results and we have no debt repayments to drain our cash flow.”