PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Saracen Mineral Holdings has reported a record quarter during the three months to March, on the back of record production from its Thunderbox project, in Western Australia.

Gold production in the March quarter reached 89 208 oz, up from the 88 833 oz produced in the previous quarter, with the Thunderbox mine delivering 40 170 oz, up from the 35 725 oz delivered in the previous quarter.

Gold production at Carosue Dam reached 49 038 oz in the three months to March, which was down from the 53 108 oz delivered in the previous quarter.

In the year-to-date, Saracen has produced 266 981 oz, at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of A$1 032/oz, which is in line with the guidance of between 345 000 oz and 365 000 oz, and ahead of the AISC guidance of between A$1 050/oz and A$1 100/oz.

“Our operations are performing extremely well, as shown by the fact that production is comfortably within annual guidance and costs are below guidance,” Saracen MD Raleigh Finlayson said on Wednesday.

“This combination enabled us to exceed our own forecast for cash generation, with cash and equivalents rising by A$11-million to A$153-million despite us spending more than A$58-million on growth and exploration in the quarter.”

Finlayson said that this investment was proving highly successful, as demonstrated by the two recent discoveries in the Carosue Dam corridor, and a host of other strong drilling results.

“Given the excellent operating results and the success we are enjoying with the drill rig, we are confident that we are well on track to meet our wider objective of growing production to 400 000 oz/y while establishing long mine lives.”

Meanwhile, Saracen on Wednesday reported that gold sales for the quarter reached 89 002 oz, at an average sales price of A$1 766/oz, which was up from the 85 049 oz sold in the December quarter, at an average price of A$1 724/oz.