JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold and copper mine Doray expects to produce between 105 000 oz and 120 000 oz of gold and between 3 000 t and 4 000 t of copper from its Andy Well and Deflector mines, in Western Australia.
The Andy Well mine, which started production in mid-2013, is expected to produce between 65 000 oz and 70 000 oz of gold in the 2017 financial year at an all-in sustaining cost of A$1 300/oz to A$1 400/oz.
Doray MD Allan Kelly said on Tuesday that the firm expected Andy Well’s production for the 2017 financial year to revert back towards levels predicted in the 2012 bankable feasibility study, as production from openpits wrapped up.
“When we started production at Andy Well, we had an inventory of about 256 000 oz, which included approximately 30 000 oz from the two high-grade openpits and forecast production of approximately 74 000 oz per annum. Over the last three years, we have consistently averaged around 17 500 oz per quarter from underground, which equates to about 70 000 oz per year excluding the openpits,” he said.
Kelly added that Doray would be working towards a potential development decision on the Gnaweeda prospect, which could have a significant positive impact on the production profile at Andy Well beyond the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, the new Deflector mine’s production forecast for 2017 is set at between 40 000 oz and 50 000 oz of gold and between 3 000 t and 4 000 t of copper.
Doray will provide a cost guidance for Deflector once the project reaches steady-state production from the primary underground ore, which makes up about 83% of the orebody.
Production of bullion and gold/copper/silver concentrate started recently at Deflector, about 14 months after the acquisition of the project.