PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper/gold miner Sandfire Resources has reported a solid quarter of production during the three months to March, but has withdrawn its full year production guidance amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The miner on Friday reported that copper production for the March quarter reached 17 936 t, down slightly from the 18 258 t produced in the previous quarter, while gold production reached 9 352 oz, down from the 10 723 oz produced in the December quarter.

The DeGrussa copper/gold mine delivered 302 791 t of ore, grading 4.5% copper, during the quarter, while the Monty copper/gold mine delivered a further 133 533 t grading 7.3% copper.

In the year-to-date, Sandfire produced 52 924 t of copper and 28 778 oz of gold.

C1 costs for the quarter declined from $0.83/lb to $0.74/lb.

A total of 73 945 t of concentrate, containing 17 564 t of copper and 9 226 oz of gold, were sold during the March quarter, and seven shipments were completed from Port Hedland and Geraldton during the quarter.

Sandfire had previously established a production target of between 70 000 t and 72 000 t of contained copper and between 38 000 oz and 40 000 oz of contained gold for the 2020 financial year; however, the miner on Friday withdrew its production guidance in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying there was uncertainty around the potential global impact of the virus.

Work at the DeGrussa operation continued at full capacity during the quarter, while exploration programmes in the Doolgunna region are also continuing, with the exploration team being separated from the production team.

In Botswana, the start of development activities at the T3 copper/silver project has been delayed, pending the potential impact of the virus, however, exploration in the region continued until late March when all drilling and exploration activities were suspended in compliance with a 28-day lockdown imposed by the Botswana government.

Sandfire has also temporarily closed its White Sulphur Springs office, in Montana, with staff working remotely.