JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-listed African Barrick Gold has set a gold production target of between 675 000 oz and 725 000 oz for 2012, CEO Greg Hawkins said on Thursday.

The miner, which missed its initial 2011 production guidance because of power issues in Tanzania, is forecasting a cost range of between $790/oz and $860/oz for this year.

Cash costs surged 22% in 2011 to $692/oz, as the rapid gold price increase and new projects coming on stream in Africa introduced cost pressures across the industry. Increased diesel usage and a higher headcount also contributed to higher costs.

African Barrick’s production dipped 2% to 688 278 oz in 2011 as increased production at the Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi and Tulawaka mines offset the planned reduction at its North Mara mine. The unstable power supply also resulted in 40 000 oz of lost production for the year. African Barrick installed 21 MW of back-up power at its Buzwagi mine at a cost of $19.3-million to mitigate the power shortages.

Despite the drop in production, the miner reported a 25% revenue increase to $1.2-billion for the 12 months ended December 31, on the back of higher average realised gold prices.

The average realised gold price was $1 587/oz during 2011, compared with $1 240/oz in 2010. The company pointed out that gold revenue reached $1.1-billion, up from $921-million in 2010.

Net profit increased to $284-million, from $222-million in 2010.

The gold company boosted its divided threefold to 16.3c a share, up from 5.3c in 2010 in the 12 months ended December 2011.

 

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