HIGHLIGHTS-Operational
- Improved Group lost time injury frequency rate ("LTIFR") of 0.11 per 200,000 workplace hours, for the third quarter ("Q3");
- Gold production of 98,045 ounces from the Sukari Gold Mine ("Sukari") in Q3, bringing production for the first nine months of 2019 ("YTD") to 332,141 ounces;
- Gross revenue was US$160.8 million from 108,826 ounces in gold sales, at an average realised gold price of US$1,478 per ounce;
- Open pit delivered continued grade improvements; Mining rates on the higher-grade Stage 4 West wall were slower than scheduled;
- Underground production exceeded plan, driven by approximately 50kt of marginal material mined reclassified as low-grade development ore and processed through the plant;
- Processing plant throughput of 3.2Mt of ore in Q3 (YTD: 9.8Mt), at a 94.3% plant utilisation rate;
- Absolute cash costs of production and all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") continue to track better than budget for Q3 and YTD; and
- As a function of lower production volumes, unit cash costs for Q3 are US$860 per ounce produced (YTD: US$742/oz) and AISC are US$1,141 per ounce sold (YTD: US$1,006/oz).
Financial
- Interim dividend of 4.0 US cents per share (US$46.4 million) was distributed to shareholders on 27 September 2019;
- Strong and flexible balance sheet with no debt, no hedging and cash and liquid assets of US$289.4 million, as at 30 September 2019, after interim dividend distribution;
- Net cash generated from operating activities was US$39.2 million. After Sukari profit share distribution and Group investing activities, Group free cash flow was US$4.1 million (YTD: US$39.7 million); and
- Total expenditure (capex and exploration expense) was lower than budget for Q3 (US$27.3 million) and YTD (US$85.7 million).
Q4 Outlook
- October production (to date) is in line with plan and on track to be the strongest monthly performance for the year to date; The bottom end of full year production guidance, 490,000 ounces, remains the target for the year;
- Full year cost guidance remains unchanged, guiding towards the respective top end of the full year guidance ranges: cash costs of US$675-725 per ounce produced, and AISC of US$890-950 per ounce sold;
- The key focus for this quarters production target is the mining of the higher-grade ore as scheduled from Stage 4 West of the open pit;
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