JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold production from unhedged gold mining and exploration company Avocet’s Inata gold mine, in Burkina Faso, has dipped year-on-year, narrowing from 86 037 oz in 2014 to 74 755 oz in 2015.

Cash costs for the year under review averaged $1 058/oz – an improvement on the $1 186/oz in the prior year.

The slump in full-year output came despite a slight quarter-on-quarter production uptick in the fourth quarter, during which Avocet delivered 17 380 oz at a cash cost of $1 094/oz, compared with the 17 517 oz produced at a cash cost of $1 107/oz in the preceding three months.
 
The company noted in a results statement that, during the fourth quarter, mining and processing had focused on lower grades and softer oxide ores, with head grades of 1.22 g/t and average recovery levels of 89%, compared with 1.5 g/t at 72% in the third quarter.

Throughput in the final three months of the year increased to 508 000 t, from 448 000 t in the third quarter, despite a disruption caused by supply issues in the wake of an attempted military coup in September.
 
Average mining costs of $318/oz in 2015 were lower than the $422/oz recorded in 2014, despite the stripping ratio more than doubling from 4.5 to 9.8.

“This has been achieved principally as a result of the waste from the final North pit pushback being dumped within worked-out adjacent pits. The high-grade carbonaceous ore from North pit is planned to be mined later this year,” Avocet stated.
 
The mine, meanwhile, continued to seek further areas for cost reductions, with all management salaries reduced by 10% over the final quarter.

“In spite of a decrease in cash costs in the quarter, margins remain tight in the context of gold spot rates and particularly diesel prices, which have been held at March 2015 levels.

“The company continues to work with the Chamber of Mines to lobby the Burkina Faso government to reduce the price of fuel to reflect the fall in global oil prices,” it held.