Midtier gold miner Leagold has updated its production guidance to reflect the recent completion of its Brio Gold acquisition, which added three mines in Brazil to its portfolio.
The company said this week that it expects to produce between 325 000 oz and 350 000 oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of between $940/oz and $975/oz.
During the June quarter, Leagold produced 64 517 oz at an AISC of $950/oz. This includes a full quarter of production from the Los Filos mine, in Mexico, and 38 days of operations from the newly acquired Riacho do Machados (RDM), Fazenda Brasileiro and Pilar de Goias mines, in Brazil.
Leagold said that production at Los Filos in the second quarter lagged the first quarter, owing to lower volumes of contained gold placed on the heap leach pads in the first quarter and leaching recovery lag time, combined with lower-than-expected underground grades.
CEO Neil Woodyer said that an agglomerator at Los Filos had been commissioned and that the company was segregating the processing of high-grade material. The processing plan now schedules a significant increase in the uncrushed, unagglomerated material placed on the pads, which will improve gold production and cash flow in the second quarter, he added.
“On a consolidated basis, we expect to be producing at an annualized rate of approximately 450 000 oz in the second half of this year, at AISC of approximately $950/oz,” Woodyer said in a statement.
Leagold has also embarked on a process of reorientating each mine in its Brazil portfolio into “individual profit centres”.
“Our newly acquired Santa Luz project in Brazil is a key growth opportunity; however, the first priority is assuming control of and optimizing the three newly acquired operating mines. As a result, we are not expecting to restart construction of Santa Luz until later this year or early next year,” Woodyer said.