PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper/gold miner Sandfire Resources reported record full year production during the 12 months ended June, following a strong fourth quarter.
The miner has reported an increase in both copper and gold production for the quarter ended June, with copper production up from 17 936 t in the previous quarter, to 19 313 t, while gold production was up from 9 352 t to 13 541 t in the same period.
For the full year, copper production reached 72 238 t, while gold production was reported at 42 263 t.
The company told shareholders that production during the quarter was sourced from both the DeGrussa and Monty mines, in Western Australia, with production rates from DeGrussa continuing to meet expectations, while Monty outperformed forecast rates. A total of 424 691 t of ore was mined during the quarter under review.
Sandfire noted that sales volumes for the quarter ended June reached 84 134 t of concentrate, containing 20 041 t of contained copper and 14 250 oz of contained gold. For the full year, revenues reached A$657-million.
C1 costs for the quarter declined from 74c/lb to 51c/lb, driven by a combination of record copper production and gold production, as well as lower currency.
Looking ahead at 2021, Sandfire is expected to produce between 67 000 t and 70 000 t of contained copper, with gold production targeted at between 36 000 oz and 40 000 oz, with C1 costs targeted at between 90c/lb and 95c/lb.