PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Kingsgate Consolidated has reported a slight decline in production during the three months to September, compared with the previous quarter, as its Chatree mine, in Thailand, accessed lower gold grades.
Planned maintenance at the Chatree operation also resulted in lower plant throughput, Kingsgate said on Thursday.
During the quarter under review, Kingsgate produced 53 557 oz of gold, at a cash cost of $906/oz, which compared with the 55 450 oz in the previous quarter, at a cash cost of $857/oz.
The Chatree mine delivered 33 648 oz during the quarter, compared with the 36 475 oz delivered in the three months to June, with total cash cost at the operation increasing from $631/oz to $751/oz.
At the Challenger gold mine, in South Australia, Kingsgate reported a slight increase in production to 19 909 oz during the quarter, up from the 18 975 oz produced in the previous quarter.
Head grade at the Challenger mine was higher during the three months to September, as the operating schedule delivered higher grade stope ore to the plant.
Meanwhile, Kingsgate announced that gold sales for the quarter reached 49 200 oz, with the average gold price received recorded at $1 278/oz.
For the 2015 financial year, Kingsgate was aiming to produce between 195 000 oz and 215 000 oz of gold, including between 130 000 oz and 140 000 oz from the Chatree mine, while Challenger was expected to deliver between 65 000 oz and 75 000 oz.