The Brucejack gold mine has achieved steady-stage production and is set to produce between 200 000 oz and 220 000 oz of gold in the second half of the year, British Columbian miner Pretium Resources reported on Monday.
The mine produced 111 340 oz of gold in the second quarter, taking production for the first half of the year to more than 187 000 oz – meeting the production guidance of 150 000 oz to 200 000 oz.
Full-year production is forecast to be in the 387 000 oz to 407 000 oz range, Pretium stated.
The Vancouver-headquartered company said the mine averaged a gold recovery rate of 97.7% during the second quarter, with throughput totalling 236 990 t of ore milled. The mine operated at a throughput rate of 2 604 t/d during the June quarter.
“The successful integration of our grade control programme into our mining process has resulted in increased grade to the mill with production exceeding grade control estimates for the quarter,” said president and CEO Joseph Ovsenek.
All-in sustaining costs for the second half of 2018 are expected to range from $710/oz gold sold to $770/oz gold sold.
With production having reached steady state at the mine, Pretium said it would place an increased focus on operational efficiency to reduce costs.