African gold recovery services company Goldplat has achieved a 95% year-on-year increase in gold sales to 14 374 oz for the quarter ended September 30.

“With operational profitability achieved at all operations and good progress being made on our strategic objectives, I am very pleased with the results for the quarter,” Goldplat CEO Gerard Kisbey-Green noted in a statement released last week.

The gold producer reported a 133% year-on-year increase in gold production at the Kilimapesa gold mine, in Kenya, to 1 449 oz, with the mine on track to produce more than 5 800 oz, as targeted, during the 2018 financial year.

Kisbey-Green added that, with production rates at Kilimapesa now sustainable at planned levels for Stage 2, the focus will turn to cost reduction.

Meanwhile, Goldplat Recovery, in South Africa, achieved a 40% year-on-year increase in gold and gold equivalents produced during the quarter to 7 588 oz. In addition to the progress made in sourcing material for processing through the carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuits, with more than 12 months of material available, work continues to optimise the recoveries from the material, Goldplat noted.

The company added that good progress was being made in securing a pit for later tailings deposition.

During the quarter, Gold Recovery Ghana (GRG) produced 1 190 oz of gold and gold equivalents, with 2 604 oz of gold sold on GRG’s own account.

“At GRG, good progress is being made in our efforts to grow production through sourcing material from West Africa and South America, and we expect commissioning of the elution plant scheduled to begin towards the end of December,” said Kisbey-Green.

Discussions are also continuing with the Ghanaian government regarding a project to clean up and process contaminated artisanal tailings, while the construction of a mobile gold concentrator pilot plant in South Africa has progressed well.

The plant is expected to be commissioned in Ghana next month.

Further, about 80% of the on-site tailings material has now been removed from the Ghana plant site, freeing up land for expansion and significantly reducing environmental liabilities.