Canadian mining firm Guyana Goldfields Inc produced 41,281 ounces of gold at its Aurora mine in Region Seven during the first quarter of this year and its total gold production since September last year is now at 77,182 ounces.
“We are extremely pleased with the overall performance of Aurora and the company is well on its way to achieving its production guidance for 2016 of 130,000 to 150,000 ounces of gold. We continue to optimize gold recovery and are actively working on continuous improvement initiatives designed to improve operating efficiencies and reduce costs,” Scott Caldwell, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company said in a statement yesterday.
The company said in the first quarter ended March 31, it produced 41,281 ounces of gold, of which, 40,568 ounces were sold at an average realized price of US$1,196 per ounce generating approximately US$48.5 million in pre-tax revenue. It added that the mill processed an average of 5,083 tonnes of ore per day and gold recoveries averaged 90.4%.
Mining is going well with total material mined for the year exceeding plan by 38% or 566,066 tonnes, the statement said. It noted that total overall gold production since September 2015 is 77,182 ounces. At the end of last month, Guyana Goldfields made its second principal debt repayment of US$6.8 million towards the Project Loan Facility of US$160 million bringing its combined principal debt repayment to US$11.1 million, the statement added. Gold exports bring in significant foreign exchange earnings for Guyana and last year gold was the largest earner of foreign currency for the country. Gold declarations for 2015 amounted to 451,490 ounces, representing a 16.5% increase over 2014 figures with Guyana Goldfields and Australian miner Troy Resources being credited for the increase.
The gold production target this year has been set at 550,000 ounces. However, smuggling of the precious mineral remains of great concern with an estimated 15,000 ounces of gold per week being smuggled out of the country, according to the government.
