PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior gold producer Millennium Minerals has reported a 77% increase in production in the September quarter, compared with the previous quarter, as head grades increased on the back of new ore sources at its Nullagine gold project, in Western Australia.
The ASX-listed company on Tuesday reported that gold production for the September quarter reached 22 412 oz, which was at the upper end of the quarterly guidance of between 20 000 oz and 22 000 oz, and a significant increase on the 12 639 oz produced in the June quarter.
During the month of September, the Nullagine project produced 10 193 oz of gold.
CEO Peter Cash told shareholders that the strong quarterly result showed that the company was continuing to deliver on its strategy of becoming a consistent 100 000 oz/y gold producer.
“The September quarter marked a key turning point in Millennium’s history, with the achievement of a 100 000 oz/y production run-rate reflecting the success of our strategy of targeting larger, more sustainable ore sources at Nullagine and introducing higher-grade ore to the plant.”
The quarterly result was also not a one-off, but reflected a new sustainable long-term production rate, driven by the quality of ore being delivered across all of the company’s mining centers, and significant improvements in Millennium’s mining rate and milling performance, he said.
“We are on track to increase production further to 25 000 oz for the December quarter, which should put us on track to achieve the upper-end of our guidance of between 75 000 oz and 80 000 oz for the 2018 calendar year, and maintain our trajectory as a 100 000 oz/y producer moving forward into 2019.”