PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold-mining company Evolution Mining has reported lower C1 cash costs and lower gold production in the September quarter.
Evolution produced 107 165 oz of gold, compared with 111 899 oz delivered in the June quarter. Cash costs for the quarter declined from the A$747/oz reported in the previous quarter to A$728/oz as the company’s group-wide focus on cost and efficiency improvements paid off.
At the Cracow mine, in Queensland, Evolution delivered 21 804 oz of gold during the quarter, at a C1 cash cost of A$801/oz, while the Edna May mine, in Western Australia, delivered 21 310 oz at a cash cost of A$934/oz.
Gold production at the Pajingo mine, in Queensland, improved by 10% during the quarter under review, to reach 18 067 oz, while the C1 cash costs at the operation were reduced by 8%, to A$717/oz.
At the Mt Rawdon operation, in Queensland, the transition to owner-miner resulted in a 31% reduction in unit mining costs, compared with the previous corresponding period, with the mine producing 26 540 oz of gold at a cash cost of A$594/oz.
Cash costs at the Mt Carlton operation, also in Queensland, were also down by 16.5% to A$615/oz during the quarter under review, owing to the treatment of V2 ore and associated by-product credits.
A total of 18 515 oz of contained gold was produced from the V2 deposit, and a total of 331 877 oz of contained silver.
Looking ahead, Evolution has maintained its December quarter forecast of some 100 000 oz of gold equivalent, with the miner also remaining on track to produce between 400 000 oz and 440 000 oz of gold equivalent during 2015, at a cash cost of between A$750/oz and A$820/oz.