PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner St Barbara on Friday reported that gold production for the full 2019 financial year had reached 362 346 oz, which was consistent with the revised guidance of 360 000 oz.
St Barbara last month flagged lower production from its Gwalia operation, in Western Australia, on the back of mining delays, which deferred the production of some 14 900 oz of gold from June to July, falling outside of the financial year.
The Gwalia operation produced 49 966 oz of gold in the June quarter, and 220 169 oz of gold in the full year, which was within the revised guidance of 220 000 oz for the full year.
The Simberi operation, in Papua New Guinea, produced a near-record 36 231 oz of gold in the June quarter, and a record 142 117 oz in the full year, marking the fifth consecutive annual production record.
St Barbara told shareholders that the record production was attributable to a combination of record recovery and higher-grade ore mined in a supergene-enriched zone adjacent to the sulphide/oxide boundary, with average milled grade reaching 1.64 g/t gold during the year.
St Barbara is in the midst of an C$802-million takeover offer for TSX-V-listed Atlantic Gold, offering the Canadian gold miner C$2.90 a share for all of its outstanding shares.
Atlantic Gold owns the Moose River operation, in Nova Scotia, which comprises one producing openpit pit mine and three other mines that are currently in development.