JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Centamin increased its gold production by 15% quarter-on-quarter and 10% year-on-year to 93 624 oz in the three months ended September 30.

"The ramp-up in productivity from the process plant [at the Sukari mine, in Egypt] continued during the quarter, and achieved the expanded ten-million-tonne-a-year nameplate capacity in September with a record 882 443 t milled – in line with our expectations,” Centamin chairperson Josef El-Raghy commented.

He said mining rates from the openpit and underground operations continued to improve, adding that, with the recent government approval for an increase in ammonium nitrate use, the operation remained on a secure footing.

“While our forecast average grades from underground development ore [for this year] have [been] reduced and, [while] plant productivity was [lower-than-expected in October], our recently revised annual guidance of 370 000 oz to 380 000 oz implies that we will meet our post-expansion production rate of 450 000 oz/y to 500 000 oz/y in the fourth quarter.

“This will represent a solid achievement for the operation so soon after commissioning activities commenced in the second quarter,” El-Raghy noted.

Meanwhile, Centamin on Wednesday also reported a 40% quarter-on-quarter increase in basic earnings a share to 1.39c.

Year-on-year, however, basic earnings a share were 49% lower.

Centamin’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, at $37.8-million, were up 16% quarter-on-quarter but down 12% year-on-year.

The company stated that it remained debt-free and unhedged, with cash, bullion on hand, gold sales receivables and available-for-sale financial assets of $140.3-million as at September 30.

Meanwhile, Centamin added that underground drilling at Sukari continued to support further resource and reserve expansion potential.