Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk has reaffirmed its guidance for 2021 of 430 000 oz to 470 000 oz, comprising own production of 370 000 oz to 390 000 oz.
The London-listed miner produced 195 000 oz in the first half of the year, a 39% decrease on the 320.6-million ounces of the first half of 2020.
Third-party gold concentrate production volumes were 66% down at 36 700 oz in the six months.
“The first half of 2021 was a transitional period for Petropavlovsk as we prepared to launch the Pioneer flotation plant, which heralds the mine’s shift from processing nonrefractory ore to being a producer of refractory concentrate to feed our Pokrovskiy POX hub,” CEO Denis Alexandrov said on Wednesday.
With the Pioneer plant and increased deliveries of third-party concentrate in the second half, the miner was confident of meeting its full-year production guidance, he added.
Meanwhile, the ongoing business review, led by Alexandrov and the management team, is well under way. The review will result in a new medium-term corporate strategy by the third quarter.