Multicommodity miner Mwana Africa produced 11 314 oz of gold at its Freda Rebecca mine, in Zimbabwe, during July and August at a reduced cash cost of $854/oz, compared with an average cost of $1 078/oz during the three months ended June, Mwana CEO Kalaa Mpinga said
This represented a 21% decline in costs quarter-on-quarter, he said.
All-in sustaining costs (AISCs) for July and August averaged $1 088/oz, mostly owing to increased production and reagent optimisation.
Production for September was forecast at 5 000 oz, based on improved mill throughput, availability and feed grade, all of which were sustainable, Mpinga said.
He added that all of the updates and adjustments to the mine’s production facilities had now been completed and that Freda Rebecca’s sole focus now was maintaining current cost levels and the continuous monitoring of efficiencies.
Meanwhile, the production rate at Mwana’s Bindura Nickel Corporation subsidiary’s Trojan mine was steadily increasing to its optimal sustainable level.
During July and August, the mine milled 106 408 t of ore to produce 1 296 t of nickel in concentrate.
Cash costs averaged $13 654/t during the two months, while AISCs averaged $14 313/t over the same period.
“Our focus remains on optimising current operations at the Trojan mine, while continuing to evaluate options for bringing the smelter operations back into production,” Mpinga said, adding that initial refurbishment work had already started while advanced discussions relating to the smelter’s restart were ongoing.
Mpinga also noted that production continued to ramp up quickly at Mwana’s Klipspringer slimes retreatment project, in South Africa’s Limpopo province.
“The company continues to remain cash positive and cash generative,” he said.