JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Village Main Reef on Tuesday reported that its gold output for the December quarter was 49 111 oz, 20% lower than the record gold production achieved during the September quarter, largely owing to the seasonal holidays, industrial action and safety-related stoppages.

Village joint CEO Marius Saaiman said in a statement that the South African mining industry had concluded one of the most difficult quarters in South African mining history, weighed down heavily by labour unrest across the sector.

“The Village operations did not escape the impact of these events, with production volumes at most of our operations lower than anticipated. We are optimistic that the actions taken by management, including our restructuring plans at Blyvoor [Blyvooruitzicht gold mine] and renewed safety improvement strategies, should have a positive impact on our performance during the March quarter," he added.

Gold output at the Blyvoor, near Carletonville, in Gauteng, was 9 355 oz, or 46% lower than the September quarter.

Village had warned during the September quarter that an unprotected mine strike action during October and early in December, coupled with a seismic event that affected 40% of underground production areas, would materially affect Blyvoor’s production during the December quarter.

Meanwhile, production at Blyvoor was further affected by a stoppage of certain working areas, following a fall-of-ground event that resulted in a fatality at the beginning of December. Village said the affected working areas were being re-established and a revised fall-of-ground management strategy was being implemented.

Further, December quarter gold production at the company’s Tau Lekoa gold mine, in Orkney, in the North West province, was 14% lower at 27 360 oz, compared with the September quarter. Lower production was largely attributed to safety-related stoppages, the slow start-up post the fatal accident that occurred during the quarter and the impact of lower production volumes on the overall mining mix that resulted in lower recovered grade.

However, Village was confident that production volumes and mix have stabilised, while a review of safety systems and improvement strategies were in the initial stages of implementation and should have a positive impact on the March quarter.

Gold production at Buffelsfontein gold mine, also in the North West province, was 10 359 oz for the December quarter, an improvement of 10% over the September quarter. Village indicated that this was largely as a result of an improvement in production volumes, notwithstanding the impact of a safety-related stoppage at the high-grade No 2 shaft and the fatal accident that occurred towards the end of the quarter.

The miner highlighted that it was working with the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate and independent experts to deliver safety system improvements and strategies for accident prevention.

The Consolidated Murchison antimony gold mine, near Phalaborwa, in Limpopo, delivered 1 255 t of antimony and 2 037 oz of gold during the reporting period, marking a 15% decline in antimony and a 27% decline in gold production, compared with the September quarter.

Production at the mine was affected by lower volumes, following a prolonged stoppage for infrastructure repairs at the high-volume Monarch shaft; however, normal production had since resumed.