PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed precious-metals-miner Kingsgate Consolidated more than doubled its full-year profit to A$73-million, compared with A$32,5-million in the previous financial year.

The surging profit was gained on the back of the Chatree mine, in Thailand, operating for its first fiscal year of production since being granted its mining lease in late 2008.

The operation produced 132 628 oz of gold and 549 522 oz of silver in the year ended June 30.

Total revenue was A$176-million, as Kingsgate treated more gold compared with the previous year. This was A$62-million more than the 2009 financial year.

Gold sales accounted for over A$165-million of the entire revenue for the year.

The Chatree ore had an average feed grade of 1,7 g/t, and mill throughput for the year was 2,7-million tons, compared with the 1,9-million reported in the previous years.

Kingsgate noted yearly gold production for the 2010/11 fiscal year was now estimated in the range of between 120 000 oz and 130 000 oz.

Meanwhile, Kingsgate said that the resource definition drilling programme at the Chatree and Chatree North mining leases would continue to fully evaluate the openpit potential of the area. Current drilling has indicated that there was still potential to increase the openpit, particularly at current gold prices.

Further, there would also be an increased focus on the deeper drilling to test underground mining potential for the project.

Kingsgate noted that there were a number of regional exploration targets also available for drilling. Several mineral exploration licences were in the application stage, and when granted, at least five drill-ready targets would become available for drilling.

The company was also progressing its investigation of possibly floating its Thai operating subsidiary, Akara Mining, on the Thai stock exchange.

Kingsgate noted that the timing of this transaction would be dependent on market conditions, as well as the Thai regulatory procedures and discussions with the Thai preference shareholder.