PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold production from the Karouni gold mine, in Guyana, fell from 19 510 oz to 18 991 oz in the three months to September, compared with the previous quarter.

Gold miner Troy Resources said on Tuesday that production for the September quarter exceeded forecasts.

“Processing performed well despite some issues with the crushing plant with further training required in some areas,” said Troy CEO and MD Ken Nilsson.

“It is planned to upgrade the mill bearing system to improve reliability going forward. All components are on site and we do not envisage any lengthy downtime during changeover.

“Processing, crushing and mining have issued with heavy rain periods but we have come a long way in terms of operating conditions and that is clearly shown in the gold production for the quarter,” said Nilsson.

The decline in gold production for the September quarter was attributed to a decline in head grade, while both ore mining and waste mining were higher during the September quarter, compared with the June quarter.

Meanwhile, sales revenue for the quarter ended September reached $16.3-million from the sale of 13 417 oz, and at the end of the quarter, Troy had 5 219 oz at the refinery awaiting sale.

In mid-October, Troy reported a pit wall failure at the Smarts 3 pit, with mining being suspended at that part of the operation until a full geotechnical review could be completed.

“The area of the slip was scheduled to be mined as part of a pit cutback commencing in January but this will now be rescheduled,” said Nilsson.

“No ore has been lost, but mining of ore containing approximately 3 000 oz of gold will be delayed until later in 2019. Mining is still continuing in Smarts 4 and Hicks 1 and 2 pits. In addition, with more than 200 000 t of ore on the run-of-mine stockpiles, processing will continue at full capacity but the grade will be slightly lower due to the unavailability of the slightly higher-grade ore from Smarts 3.”