PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Africa-focused gold miner Acacia Mining is targeting a group all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of less than $900/oz within the next five years, head of exploration Peter Spora said on Thursday.

Speaking at the second day of the Africa Downunder conference, in Perth, he noted that Acacia had been working hard to reduce costs and, thus far, had succeeded in reducing operating costs from among the highest in the sector to being within the first quartile of the cost curve within the next 12 months.

In the last two years, AISC dropped 35%, from nearly $1 600/oz to $1 100/oz, and Acacia delivered cost efficiencies at two of its three operating mines in Tanzania including by lowering the number of expatriates working at the operations, adapting mine plans to ensure high-grade production and renegotiating supply agreements.

Spora said Acacia’s focus was now on its flagship Bulyanhulu gold project, where costs have remained flat.

He told delegates that Acacia was hoping to increase production at Bulyanhulu to between 320 000 oz/y and 360 000 oz/y, up from the 235 000 oz produced in 2014.

The additional capacity would come from Acacia accessing higher-grade ore at the mine, with some 50 000 oz/y of production sourced from the upper east zone of the project area, and between 40 000 oz/y and 50 000 oz/y to be sourced from a tailings retreatment plant, which was already operational.

Capital costs in the first half of 2015 have been high at Bulyanhulu, tipping $1 356/oz, with Spora noting that this resulted from significant investment in the project to develop and maintain the mine, allowing for the increased output.

However, with the majority of the investment now made, Acacia was hoping to exit the fourth quarter of 2015 at an AISC of less than $1 000/oz.

“Once we start to improve our productivity at Bulyanhulu, we are going to see significant reductions in our all-in sustaining costs,” Spora said.