PERTH (miningweekly.com) - Gold miner Evolution Mining has reported record production for the quarter ended December, surpassing its production expectations.
During the three months to December, Evolution produced 101 663 oz of gold, up from the 94 446 oz produced in the previous three months, and above the stated guidance of between 85 000 oz and 90 000 oz of gold for the period.
The miner said on Wednesday that gold production at its Pajingo operations had increased by 55% on the previous quarter, to reach 24 340 oz, as very high grades of ore was accessed at the Sonia orebody.
At the Cracow operation, in Queensland, Evolution produced 28 574 oz of gold during the quarter under review, an 11% increase on the previous quarter’s production figures.
The company noted that the tonnage of ore mined at Cracow was slightly above budget, with 124 207 t of ore mined during the quarter, at 7.37 g/t gold.
At the company’s other Queensland operation, the Mount Rawdon mine, Evolution produced 25 986 oz of gold, compared with the 27 121 oz produced in the preceding quarter.
Gold production at Mount Rawdon was in line with expectations, with ore extraction continuing from the main ore zone of the Stage 2 cutback. Evolution noted that the Stage 3 cutback was progressing well, and was on track to expose production ore quantities from 2014, as planned.
Mining and processing operations at Mount Rawdon were temporarily suspended at the end of the month as a result of heavy rains and flooding in the area. However, operations were expected to restart later this week, depending on access to ongoing supplies of diesel and other major consumables.
At the Edna May operation, in Western Australia, some 22 763 oz of gold were produced during the quarter. This was down on the 25 925 oz produced in the three months to September, with Evolution ascribing the decrease in production to a lower gold grade.
Looking ahead, Evolution said its production forecasts for the March quarter remained intact at between 85 000 oz and 90 000 oz, despite the impact of flooding in Southern Queensland.
Full-year production was expected to reach between 370 000 oz and 410 000 oz.