Sukari increases gold output in Q1 2016

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Preliminary production at gold miner Centamin’s Egypt-based Sukari gold mine increased by 6.5% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to March 31, also up 15.7% from the comparable quarter of 2015, the miner said on Thursday.

Gold production increased to 125 268 oz from 117 644 oz in the previous quarter and had significantly increased from the 108 233 oz recorded at Sukari in the first quarter of 2015. 

Additionally, Centamin said on Thursday that full-year production guidance of 470 000 oz of gold from Sukari had been maintained. 
 
Quarterly throughput at the mine’s process plant was 2 876 kt, which was a 4.3% increase on the previous quarter and above Centamin’s base case target rate of 11-million tons a year.
 
Openpit total material movement increased 10.2% on the previous quarter to 15 157 kt from 13 754 kt with openpit ore production increasing by 7.9% to 2 405 kt from 2 229 kt.  The run-of-mine ore stockpile balance decreased by 213 kt to 491 kt at the end of the period. 
 
The underground operation delivered 281 kt of ore – a 6.3% decrease on the 300 kt of ore in the previous quarter, though it remained above the company’s forecast production rate of one-million tons a year.
 
Centamin CEO Andrew Pardey said the company’s production results reflected “a solid start” to the year for Sukari and supported Centamin’s forecast 2016 production of 470 000 oz of gold. 

“Continuing optimisation of the expanded Sukari processing and mining operations supports the potential for further productivity increases over the coming quarters," Pardey concluded.