G-Resources: Q2 output down slightly, still on track to meet 2014 target
Tuesday, July 15 2014 - 01:10 AM WIB
Hong Kong-listed G-Resources Group Ltd said that although gold output at its Martabe mine in North Sumatra declined slightly in the second quarter of this year to 70,135 ounces, compared to 70,212 ounces in the same period of last year, it remains optimistic to be able to achieve full-year target.
The company said in a statement that the Q2 gold production ?brings the half year to 134,937 ounces, which is equivalent to an annualized production of 270,000 ounces, exceeding current guidance of 230,000 to 250,000 ounces.?
It added that silver production in second quarter reached 530,918 ounces, and 1,046,535 ounces for the half year, which is equivalent to an annualized production of over 2 million ounces, meeting current guidance.
?The company considers that it will achieve the upper end of the prior guidance for 2014, i.e. 250,000 ounces of gold. Silver guidance at 2 million ounces remains unchanged,? G-Resources said.
Elsewhere, G-Resources said that during the quarter, the world market price of gold fluctuated between $1,242/ounce and $1,325/ounce with the company achieving an average price for the quarter of $1,286/ounce. The company said it has factored in lower gold and silver prices to its internal financial modeling and prices received for sales were on average in excess of plan through the quarter.
The company said it has continued its focus on the ?Martabe Improvement Programme? (MIP) seeking to continually realize incremental improvements in operations across the whole business to deliver ever improving financial results. For the second quarter, the all-in sustaining costs (AISC), at $709/ounce, continues to demonstrate Martabe?s position as one of the world?s leading gold mines.
Exploration expenditures are expected to be reduced slightly from $17 million to approximately $15 million, whilst capital expenditure is estimated to be approximately $60 million - this includes some minor land acquisition costs and lifts for the tailings storage facility. The installation of a secondary crushing facility to bring plant throughput capacity to around 5 mtpa, is now not anticipated to occur until the first half of 2015.
The Martabe mine is located on the western side of the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Province of North Sumatra, in the Batangtoru sub-district.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak