Polyus CEO Pavel Grachev
Russian gold mining company Polyus on Monday reported gold production of 684 000 oz in the second quarter, which is a 14% improvement on both a quarter-on-quarter and a year-on-year basis.
The performance, CEO Pavel Grachev reported, was supported by the Natalka mill operating at full capacity and ongoing expansion across the entire asset portfolio.
“We are continuously working to introduce further operational improvements at Natalka, including a set of initiatives to increase the recovery rate,” he said in a statement.
The group’s recovery rate in the second quarter stood at 82.2%, compared with 81.4% in the previous quarter.
Volumes of ore mined amounted to 15.66-million tonnes, a 12% increase on the previous quarter. On a year-on-year basis, volumes of ore mined rose by 68%, driven by intensified mining activities across all operating assets.
Volumes of ore processed totalled 10.90-million tonnes, up 6% on the previous quarter. Year-on-year, volumes of ore processed rose by 10%, primarily reflecting the completion of the ramp-up at Natalka.
Its estimated gold sales for the June quarter is $886-million, up 20% compared with the previous quarter, with an estimated weighted-average gold selling price of $1 314/oz, broadly unchanged from the first quarter of 2019.
The gold miner said it expected to achieve production of about 2.8-million ounces of gold for the full year, in line with its guidance.