PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner St Barbara has seen gold production fall in the September quarter as the Gwalia project, in Western Australia, dealt with a seismic event and shift in the mine plan.

Gold production for the three months to September reached 72 990 oz, compared with the 108 612 oz reported in the June quarter.

Production at Gwalia declined from 51 297 oz in the June quarter to 22 625 oz in the September quarter, with production falling as a result of a planned prioritization of development during the start of the year, and a seismic event in Sept, which resulted in the closure of the decline and the rehabilitation of a 30 m lateral section.

The Atlantic operation, in Nova Scotia, contributed 27 226 oz of gold during the quarter, down slightly from 29 209 oz in the previous quarter, reflecting lower mill grades and slightly lower recovery rates.

Meanwhile, Simberi, in Papua New Guinea, contributed 23 139 oz during the quarter, down from the 28 106 oz delivered in the three months to June, with production based on lower milled tonnes and a lower recovery rate.

“The 2021 financial year marks the start of a new era at St Barbara as foreshadowed in the latter half of 2020. We have launched Building Brilliance across our operations. While we are still in the process of translating identified opportunities into a comprehensive implementation plan, I am very pleased with our progress in translating those identified opportunities to date through various milestones to form the implementation plan,” said St Barbara MD and CEO Craig Jetson.

“Building Brilliance is about our whole business – zero harm in everything we do, being a highly effective and engaged organisation and an employer of choice, realising the full potential of our assets and delivering our major expansion projects safely, on time, on budget and fit‐for purpose.

“It includes the design and implementation of an optimal operating model, including a COO role, scheduled to commence in the second quarter. With all these elements being established, we will be well positioned to act on our aspiration of deliberate and value‐accretive growth,” Jetson said.

“We have a clear strategy to develop the future of our Gwalia mine as we transition operations from the last few years of expansion, appoint new leaders and progress our development.

“In addition to the previously advised seismic events and fall of ground in the Hoover decline at Gwalia, decommissioning of the raisebore equipment took longer than anticipated, and a scheduled plant shutdown ran over time. Despite the impact on first quarter production, we remain focused on realising our objectives in the first half of 2021.”

Jetson said that St Barbara’s project pipeline was central to Building Brilliance; this was of particular relevance to the company’s Atlantic gold and Simberi operations.

“Delivering on our potential in a timely, cost‐appropriate way is key to driving deliberate and value‐accretive growth,” he added.

“In the second quarter of 2021, we will elaborate on our aspiration to unlock value in our organisation, improve safety, deliver cost savings and improve our productivity.”

St Barbara has maintained its full year production guidance of between 370 000 oz and 410 000 oz, at an all-in sustaining cost of between A$1 360/oz and A$1 510/oz.