PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australia and Africa-focused La Mancha Resources produced 21 654 oz of gold in the first quarter of 2010, up 17% from the 18 515 oz produced in the previous corresponding period, on the back of increased output from the Frog’s Leg mine, in Western Australia.

The company said in a statement that the ramp-up of production from the Frog’s Leg operation, as well as improved performance from the Hassaï mine, in Sudan, had compensated for lower production at the Ity mine, in the Côte d'Ivoire.

The stronger gold production drove La Mancha's first-quarter revenues up to C$27,8-million, marking a 13% increase over the corresponding period of last year, as the gold price remained fairly stable between the two periods.

“La Mancha continues to progress in accordance with our business plan. While we are pleased with our strong first-quarter results, they still do not fully reflect our achievements,” said president and CEO Dominique Delorme.

He noted that for the second quarter, the company expected the combined impact of increased mill capacity, increased ore production at Frog's Leg, and the recent start of production at White Foil, also in Western Australia, to boost gold production from Australia alone to over 31 000 oz.

“We, therefore, remain confident that we will achieve our target 2010 gold production of up to 140 000 oz."

During the quarter under review, the Frog's Leg mine produced 9 789 oz of gold, compared with the 6 115 oz over the same period of 2009.

Meanwhile, the 100%-owned White Foil mine was set to start contributing to La Mancha's consolidated gold production in the second quarter, as the mine celebrated its first gold pour last month.

Mining operations, which began in March, continue to run on schedule, with the first 100 000 t milling campaign well under way. As of May 3, a total of 101 000-t had been mined at a grade of 2,46 g/t gold.

Production at the Hassaï mine totalled 17 748 oz of gold, compared with the 16 220 oz of gold produced in the first quarter of 2009. Gold output increased owing to an increase in mill throughput and a slight increase in the gold recovery rate, which compensated for the decreased average processed gold grade.

La Mancha reported that the Ity mine produced a total of 10 380 oz of gold during the first quarter of 2010, compared with 12 885 oz of gold the previous year.

Despite the higher gold grades milled, production decreased owing to the combination of a lower mill throughput and a lower gold recovery rate.

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.