The Lamaque mill, in Canada.
Canada-headquartered Eldorado Gold is well positioned to grow its yearly production to more than half-a-million ounces next year, supported by the restart of mining and heap leaching at Kisladag and continuing the momentum of Lamaque.
The company grew its production to 349 147 oz of gold in 2018, including 35 350 oz of pre-commercial production from Lamaque, in Quebec. This compares with 2017 production of 292 971 oz and the original 2018 guidance of 290 000 oz to 330 000 oz.
Production will be between 390 000 oz and 420 000 oz in 2019, Eldorado reported on Friday, announcing its financial year-end results.
The miner generated $459-million in revenue from its operations during the year, an improvement from $391.4-million in the previous year. Its net cash flow was about double that of 2017 at $66.3-million.
However, impairments adjustments of $447.8-million for Olympias, in Greece, and Kisladag, in Turkey, resulted in a net loss of $361.9-million, or $2.28 a share. The adjusted net loss came to $26.3-million, compared with adjusted net earnings of $15.2-million in the previous year.
The resumption of mining and heap leaching at Kisladag – as announced last month – should give the company the opportunity to consider initial debt retirement later this year, Eldorado reported.
“The restart of mining and heap leaching at Kisladag is a key part of our path forward. With improved heap leach recoveries, we expect our revised plan will provide increased free cash flow over the next three years.
“Eldorado’s growth is also supported by the strong momentum at Lamaque. Less than two years after we acquired the asset, we are set to begin commercial gold production later this quarter. We expect total output at Lamaque, including pre-commercial production in excess of 100 000 oz in 2019. We continue to focus on expansion possibilities through resource conversion, exploration drilling and increasing mill feed at this core asset,” commented president and CEO George Burns.
The company expects to be in commercial operation at Lamaque in the next month.