Newcrest reports lower gold output at Gosowong mine
Friday, January 30 2015 - 04:05 AM WIB
ASX-listed Newcrest Mining Ltd said that gold production at its Gosowong mine on Halmahera Island, North Maluku Province, declined slightly to 66,464 ounces in the quarter ending December of last year, from 67,676 in the quarter ending September.
On a year-on-year basis, the fourth quarter 2014 gold production was 14.47 percent lower than 77,990 ounces in the corresponding quarter of 2013.
?Gold production was slightly lower than the previous quarter as increased mine production and mill throughput was offset by lower gold grades,? the company said in a quarterly report published Friday.
Hot water management and geotechnical issues at Toguraci and challenging ground conditions at Kencana continue to impact mine sequencing and access to higher grade ore, it added.
?Gosowong?s AUD AISC per ounce was higher than the previous quarter due to lower gold grade mined and the depreciation of the AUD and Indonesian Rupiah against the USD,? the company said.
The prior quarter also benefitted from significantly higher sales volumes versus production, which related to gold produced but unsold in the FY14 year.
Meanwhile, The search for new discoveries continued with drill testing of the Salut South East, Wokala South and Village East target areas. Drill testing of the Toguraci West and Toguraci South East targets was completed in the quarter.
Exploration has also been expanded into the regional contract of work with a new integrated targeting approach identifying a number of targets outside the goldfield.
A series of geophysical surveys are planned to commence in the March 2015 quarter, which will target areas immediately east of the Kencana operations and the northern extensions of the Goldfields, Newcrest said.
During the quarter underground rigs continued infill grade control drilling programs at Kencana and Toguraci
Gosowong mine production performance
| Production Highlights | Metric | December 2014 Qtr | September 2014 Qtr | YTD FY15 | YTD FY14 |
| TRIFR | mmhrs | 4.9 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
| Production - Gold | oz | 66,464 | 67,676 | 134,140 | 149,217 |
| All-In Sustaining cost | AUD/oz sold | 1,111 | 771 | 897 | 990 |
| USD/oz sold | 953 | 714 | 800 | 913 | |
| All-In Sustaining cost margin | AUD/oz sold | 291 | 622 | 501 | 416 |
| USD/oz sold | 249 | 576 | 447 | 384 |
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak