PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Northern Star Resources has reported record production in the June quarter, with the company also exceeding its full-year guidance.

Northern Star produced 183 949 oz of gold during the three months to June, with full-year production reported at 575 121 oz, exceeding the full-year guidance of between 540 000 oz and 560 000 oz.

The Jundee operation delivered 1 923 oz of gold in the quarter and 302 427 oz of gold in the full year, while the Kalgoorlie gold operations produced 91 920 oz in the quarter and 285 303 oz in the full year.

Northern Star sold 182 856 oz of gold in the June quarter, reporting record underlying free cash flows of A$93-million for the quarter, despite investing around A$46-million in expansionary capital and exploration, and carrying the full mining cost at South Kalgoorlie underground while honoring third-party toll treating contracts.

For the full year, Northern Star sold 570 110 oz of gold.

Executive chairperson Bill Beament said on Wednesday that the quarter’s results provided an insight into the substantial cash generation capacity which was a direct result of Northern Star’s organic growth strategy.

“The hugely successful exploration programme is the cornerstone of our growth and ultimately our exceptional financial returns. The vast expansion in our gold inventory, which in 2017 came at a cost of just A$24/oz, has underpinned mine life visibility of more than ten years, and the growth in annual production to our targeted rate of 600 000 oz.”

Beament said that the company’s focus now was on achieving further inventory growth and production growth, which in turn would drive free cash flow and overall financial returns.

“Given the crucial role exploration has played in our success, we are delighted to increase our exploration budget for this financial year by one-third, to a record A$60-million,” he said.

Looking ahead at production, Northern Star has set a 600 000 oz to 640 000 oz production target for 2019, with Jundee expected to deliver between 280 000 oz and 300 000 oz, and the Kalgoorlie operations between 320 000 oz and 340 000  oz.