PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Evolution Mining has reported a fall in gold production as wet weather conditions impacted access to higher-grade ore at its Mt Rawdon operation, in Queensland.

The ASX-listed miner on Thursday reported that gold production in the March quarter had reached 161 316 oz, down from the 180 305 oz produced in the previous quarter, while C1 cash costs increased from A$814/oz to A$949/oz.

Production from the Mt Rawdon operation declined from the 24 306 oz produced in the December quarter, to 11 930 oz, as seasonal heavy rains impacted on operations.

Mt Carlton, in Queensland, added 12 117 oz of gold during the March quarter, on par with the 12 428 oz produced in the December quarter, while Mungari, in Western Australia, contributed 27 226 oz of gold, compared with the 30 463 oz contributed in the December quarter.

Ernest Henry, in Queensland, also delivered 22 408 oz during the three months to March, which was slightly lower than the 24 473 oz delivered in the previous quarter, while the Cowal operation, in New South Wales, contributed 51 823 oz, compared with the 54 926 oz delivered in the December quarter.

At its Red Lake operation, in Ontario, Evolution produced 35 810 oz during the quarter under review, up from the 33 709 oz in the previous quarter.

Evolution told shareholders on Thursday that a strong June quarter was expected, with the miner narrowing its full year production guidance to between 695 000 oz and 710 000 oz, compared with the previous guidance of between 670 000 oz and 730 000 oz.

All-in sustaining costs for the full year have also improved to between A$1 190/oz and A$1 220/oz, compared with the previous guidance of between A$1 240/oz and A$1 300/oz.

In March this year, Evolution struck a C$343-million deal to acquire TSX-listed Battle North Gold Corporation, to gain ownership of the Bateman gold project in the Red Lake gold district, providing the company with an opportunity to expand its footprint in the Red Lake region and to create value by leveraging the infrastructure of the Bateman project and its own Red Lake project.

The Bateman project covers some 28 000 ha and includes a new 650 000 t/y mill facility. The project is currently permitted for 450 000 t/y, and is expandable to 900 000 t/y with minimal capital investment.

The project is currently estimated to host a reserve of some 3.5-million tonnes, grading 5.54 g/t gold for 635 000 oz of contained gold, and a resource estimate of 1.71-million tonnes, grading 7.09 g/t gold for 390 000 oz of contained gold.