PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior gold miner Beadell Resources on Friday reported a significant increase in gold production during the three months to December, driven by record throughput at the carbon-in-leach (CIL) gold plant at its Tucano operation, in Brazil.
During the quarter under review, gold production increased to 59 180 oz, compared with 33 793 oz in the previous quarter.
Beadell noted that the CIL plant throughput reached a record 1.18-million tonnes of predominantly oxide ore, equating to a 4.7-million-tonne-a-year rate. Head grade for the quarter was also higher at 1.70 g/t gold, compared with the 1.04 g/t gold reported in the September quarter, owing to the higher-grade feed sourced from the Duckhead orebody.
Gold stockpiles at the end of the December quarter reached 5.2-million tonnes, containing some 129 000 oz of gold, as well as marginal stockpiles of 1.3-million tonnes, estimated to contain a further 19 000 oz.
During the quarter, Beadell sold 54 892 oz of gold, at an average cash price of $1 200/oz. The miner on Friday told shareholders that gold sales for the full year 2015 would reach between 170 000 oz and 190 000 oz.