PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Higher gold production and increased sales prices have seen gold miner Resolute Mining report increased revenues and profits for the six months ended June.

The company on Friday announced a net profit after tax of $36.3-million for the half-year, compared with the $27.5-million achieved in the first half of 2019, while underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased from $55-million to $107-million in the same period.

Gold production during the six months to June increased to 217 946 oz, up from the 176 237 oz produced in the first half of last year, with revenue increasing from $229-million to $305-million.

“The first six months of 2020 will be remembered as a test of capability and resilience at Resolute. I am immensely proud of our teams who have safely and efficiently operated our mines during the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic,” said MD and CEO John Welborn.

“On-site management have done an outstanding job to implement measures ensuring the wellbeing of all our employees, contractors and the communities in which we operate, while at the same time maintaining and improving our operational performance.”

Welborn noted that the Syama underground mine, in Mali, continued to improve its operating performance, while successful exploration had extended the mine life of the oxide operation as the company continued to investigate the opportunity for a new underground mine at Tabakoroni.

Meanwhile, the Mako gold mine, in Senegal, also continued to perform to expectation, with Resolute planning to mine a further 900 000 oz of gold from the project until early 2027.

For the full 2020, Resolute has maintained its production guidance at 430 000 oz, at an all-in sustaining cost of $980/oz, with Syama expected to deliver 260 000 oz, and Mako an additional 160 000 oz.