TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Nevsun Resources, which mines gold in Eritrea, produced 101 000 oz in the last quarter of 2011 and 379 000 for the full year, the company said on Tuesday.

The quarterly production was 8% lower than the figure for the previous three months.

Its Bisha mine started commercial production in February last year, and has benefitted from low costs and high gold prices, leaving Nevsun with a $347-million cash pile at the end of December – a 52% increase from the end of the September quarter.

The TSX- and Amex-listed company said construction for a second-phase copper plant at Bisha was ongoing, with civil works having started in June 2011. The plant is set to start producing in the first half of next year.

Shares in Nevsun gained 1.7% in Toronto to trade at C$6.31 apiece by 13:16.
 

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