Operations at the Gruyere joint venture (JV), in Western Australia’s north-eastern Goldfields, will start resuming during the first week of April, midtier miner Gold Road Resources reported on Tuesday.
Heavy rainfall in March has had a significant impact on Gruyere, which is a 50:50 JV with Gold Fields.
Protracted regional rain in early March, followed by further significant and atypical rain in the second half of the month, resulted in several Laverton roads being closed for an extended period.
The Great Central road, which is the main supply route to Gruyere, has been closed since March 5, owing to extensive flood damage.
Gold Road reported that the JV had been collaborating with the Laverton shire, Yilka and other communities to complete repairs to the Great Central road, using earthmoving equipment and personnel from Gruyere. Repairs through the flooded impassable sections of the road were likely to take some time.
As a result of the road closures, Gruyere has operated a reduced mining since March 5. Processing of low-grade stockpiles has continued through most of the rain-impacted period, but operations were suspended from March 28, with scheduled maintenance brought forward.
Gold Road reported that 2024 guidance for Gruyere would be in the lower half of the previously guided 300 000 oz to 335 000 oz and in the upper half of attributable all-in sustaining costs of between A$1 900/oz and A$2 050/oz.
For the March quarter, Gold Road's gold sales totalled 32 325 oz at an average sales price of A$3 137/oz. Gold doré and bullion on hand on March 31, 2024 were about 1 825 oz. Cash and equivalents at the end of the quarter totalled A$146.2-million, with no debt drawn.