PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Resolute Mining on Tuesday announced that it was running ahead of schedule at the Syama gold operation, in Mali, after the oxide circuit was commissioned two months ahead of expectations.

Wet commissioning of the carbon-in-leach section of the oxide circuit was completed in September, and the crusher was successfully commissioned in October. Resolute said on Tuesday that sufficient ore was produced to allow mill commissioning in November.

Ramp-up of the oxide circuit would be completed in December. The circuit was expected to produce about 70 000 oz/y of gold, at a cash cost of around $700/oz.

“We are pleased that the oxide circuit commissioning has been completed on budget and ahead of schedule,” said CEO Peter Sullivan.

Mining operations have recently started at the A21 satellite pit, located about 8 km from the Syama operation, which would provide the initial feedstock for the oxide circuit.

Grade control drilling has also started ahead of schedule in July, providing an early opportunity to investigate the detailed oxide ore distribution and to optimise the mine deliveries to the process plant. Sullivan noted that initial results for the outlined grade control ore blocks showed a close alignment with the resource model and provide confidence in the mine plan going forward.

Meanwhile, Resolute on Tuesday also announced that it had taken the decision to defer mining at the Stage 2 cutback at the Syama sulphide openpit, and to initiate a review of the optimal pit design and mine plan.

“We have taken the prudent measure to defer Stage 2 of the Syama sulphide pit as we look at further optimising the openpit and increasing our cash flow in the current lower gold price environment, while maintaining our production targets,” Sullivan said.

The deferral of Stage 2 would deliver cash flow benefits to Resolute as it would reduce the short-term requirements to mine an extensive volume of pre-strip waste to gain access to deeper ore.

As a result of the modified mine plan, all-in sustaining costs at Syama were expected to be reduced by about $250/oz, until waste mining restarted. The current Stage 2 openpit mine design was based on a $1 350/oz gold price.

Sullivan noted that the deferral of the Stage 2 operation would not impact the overall 2015 production guidance of 315 000 oz at an average cash cost of $890/oz, although the decision could impact the carrying value of the Syama mine in the 2014 financial year.

Mining of Stage 2, or an optimised variation, would only restart based upon the prevailing market conditions.