Photo by: Bloombeg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX- and TSX-listed Perseus Mining’s Edikan mine, in Ghana, has reported lower gold production during the December quarter, as a delay in statutory approvals to develop openpit mines on the eastern side of the mining lease, impacted on the production schedule.
Perseus said on Thursday that since gaining the formal approval in August last year, the company had been working to mitigate the impact of the delay by accelerating mining in each of the Fobinso Stage 3, Fetish and Chirawewa pits.
Pending access to higher grade orezones, Persues sourced its production from lower-grade ore, as well as stockpiled ore.
The Edikan mine produced 32 426 oz of gold during the three months ended December, compared with the 44 267 oz produced in the previous quarter, with all-in site cash costs increasing from $1 060/oz to $1 408/oz during the same period.
For the half-year ended December, the mine delivered 76 693 oz of gold.
The miner was expected to access higher-grade ore in the coming quarters, which would materially improve both the grade and quality of the ore mined and processed from the Fetish and Chirawewa pits.
Improvements in efficiency were also being sought in the transport of ore from the eastern pits to the run-of-mine stockpile adjacent to the plant site, including efforts to maximise the amount of ore tipped directly to the crusher to reduce rehandling.
Meanwhile, Perseus on Thursday reported that quarterly gold sales reached 32 616 oz, with an average sales price of $1 247/oz achieved during the period.
For the full year, the miner maintained its output expectations at between 172 000 oz and 192 000 oz, with all-in site cash costs expected to reach between $1 130/oz and $1 250/oz.