PERTH (miningweekly.com) - Gold miner Kingsgate Consolidated on Tuesday reported that gold production for the three months to December had increased by some 62%, on the previous quarter, driven by production from its Chatree operation.

During the quarter, Kingsgate produced some 53 320 oz of gold, compared with the 32 991 oz produced in the previous quarter.

The miner said that production was up strongly at the Chatree mine, in Thailand, reflecting the impact of the expanded plant commissioning, despite the restricted pit access to higher-grade ore following the heavy rainfall and flooding in Thailand.

The Chatree operation produced some 26 035 oz of gold in the December quarter, up 80% on the previous quarter, as the Chatree North expansion ramped through the commissioning phase.

The plant has been constructed as a separate 2.7-million-ton-a-year ore processing plant, located beside the current 2.3-million-ton-a-year Chatree processing plant. This would result in a combined ore processing capacity of some five-million tons a year; however, given the operating experience and the recent history of the operation’s processing plant and the smooth, rapid ramp-up of the Chatree North plant, the actual plant capacity was expected to be around six-million tons a year.

Kingsgate noted that despite the heavy wet season, the Chatree North expansion project was now in the optimisation phase, with first gold from commissioning poured in October last year.

Meanwhile, gold production at the Challenger operation, in South Australia, also increased by 47% compared with the previous quarter, to 27 285 oz.

The company said that the strong production levels in October and November provided impetus for the strong quarterly results. This was driven by a higher head grade compared with the previous quarter, as well as steady production haulage and equipment availability.

Following the strong finish to the half-year to December, Kingsgate said on Tuesday that it was forecasting stronger production in the second half of the year, following the successful commissioning of the Chatree North expansion.

Full-year gold production was expected to reach between 210 000 oz and 230 000 oz, including between 115 000 oz and 125 000 oz from the Chatree operation and between 95 000 oz and 105 000 oz from Challenger.

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.