Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed gold miner Evolution Mining has maintained its quarterly output during the three months to December, but reduced all-in sustaining costs by 11% compared with the 2013 financial year.
The group, which owns five gold and silver mines, said on Wednesday that it had produced 107 201 oz, which was in line with the 107 195 oz produced in the previous three months, while year-to-date production reached 214 396 oz.
Its cash cost fell to A$764/oz, from A$769/oz in the previous quarter and its all-in sustaining cost fell to A$1 049/oz, from A$1 091/oz in the September quarter.
Evolution’s Queensland operations – Cracow, Pajingo, Mount Rawdon and Mount Carlton – produced 86 819 oz and its Western Australian mine – Edna May – produced 20 382 oz. Production from the Mount Carlton silver mine is converted to gold-equivalent ounces.
The Cracow mine delivered 24 016 oz of gold, with a total of 125 466 t of ore mined during the period. This compares with 23 352 oz of production in the September quarter. Evolution pointed out that the quarter saw consolidation of the transition to owner-miner at Cracow, which had resulted in an 18% reduction in year-to-date cash costs, compared with the 2013 financial year. Unit mining costs at the mine averaged A$79/t in the December quarter, which is a 35% reduction on the average rate of A$121/t in the 2013 financial year, which ended in June.
At the Pajingo mine, also in Queensland, production declined to 12 346 oz of gold, from 16 858 oz in the September quarter. Evolution explained that rehabilitation in the upper decline areas of the mine had restricted access for two weeks, which had a negative impact on output.
At the Mount Rawdon operation, Evolution produced 27 710 oz of gold during the quarter, with more than 4.2-million tonnes of material moved during the period under review.
The Edna May operation, in Western Australia, increased production to 20 382 oz of gold, from the 19 869 oz delivered in the previous three months.
Evolution noted that an improvement in production volumes and ball mill consumption had been evident at Edna May during January, with the plant sustaining an yearlyl throughput of three-million tonnes, following changes to the configuration of pipework and slurry flows around the mill.
The Mount Carlton operation produced more than 1.3-million ounces of silver from the A39 silver deposit, where cost reduction strategies continued to focus on material selection and procurement, processing efficiencies and concentrate logistics.
Meanwhile, cash costs for the quarter were A$764/oz and all-in sustaining costs were A$1 049/oz, which was down 11% on the costs achieved during the full 2013.
Evolution noted that the lower all-in sustaining costs was owing to its group-wide focus on cost reductions, capital discipline and productivity improvements, included reducing.
With its five operations in production, year-to-date output totalled 214 396 oz gold equivalent and Evolution is predicting that production for the 2014 financial year would reach between 400 00 oz and 450 000 oz, with cash operating costs between A$770/oz and A$820/oz.
The company produced 392 918 oz in the 2013 financial year, which ended in June.