London- and Toronto-listed gold miner Centamin, whose current main asset is the Sukari gold mine, in Egypt, has reported that the amount of gold produced by the mine during the second quarter of this year (2Q19) was slightly (1%) higher than production during the first quarter (1Q19), but was 27% higher during the second quarter of last year (2Q18). In quantitative terms, 2Q19 production was 117 913 oz, compared with 116 183 oz in 1Q19 and 92 803 oz in 2Q18.

Production for the first half of this year (1H19) was 8% up on production for the same period last year (1H18), and 1H19 output was 234 096 oz, compared with the 217 098 oz of 1H18.

Regarding gold sales, in 2Q19, these were also just 1% higher than in 1Q19, but 16% higher than in 2Q18. In numbers, the mine sold 112 764 oz in 2Q19 (at an average realised price of $1 307/oz), compared with 111 365 oz in 1Q19 (average realised price: $1 303/oz) and 97 628 oz in 2Q18 (average realised price: $1 298/oz). For 1H19, gold sales came to 224 129 oz at an average realised price of $1 305/oz, which was actually a 2% decrease on the 228 672 oz sold during 1H18 (at an average realised price of $1 361/oz).

The disparity between the number of ounces produced and the number of ounces sold was the consequence of the timing of the closing weekly gold shipment. In percentage terms, during 2Q19, this disparity amounted to 5%.

The mine processing plant processed 3 359 000 t of ore during 2Q19, a 3% increase on the 3 248 000 t handled in 1Q19 and a 6% increase on the 3 172 000 t processed during 2Q18. The total ore processed during 1H19 was 6 607 000 t, also a 6% increase on the 6 240 000 t for 1H18. During 2Q19, use of the plant increased to 96.1%.

“The outlook for the business continues to improve,” affirmed company CEO Andrew Pardy. “We remain focused on delivery against our promises and our corporate strategy.”

The company is maintaining its guidance for a total gold production for this year of 490 000 oz to 520 000 oz, at a cash cost of $675 to $725 per ounce of gold produced. The company is expecting its costs to decline as its production increases during the second half of this year.

“Stronger production in the second half will be driven by mining openpit grades above 1 g/t, as the Stage 4 pit progresses down into the Hapi Zone,” he stated. “With continued improvement in the business, the company is growing its core technical competences through recruitment and ongoing development of its people.”

Sukari undertakes both openpit and underground mining. During 2Q19, the underground operation mined 310 000 t of ore, while the openpit operation produced 3 615 000 t of ore.

In addition to organic exploration activities at Sukari, the company also has completely unrelated exploration activities in other African countries. The most advanced of these is the Doropo project, in the Côte d’Ivoire, but there is also the ABC project in that same country and the Batie West project, in Burkina Faso.