PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Gold Road Resources has adjusted full year production expectations at the Gruyere gold mine, in Western Australia, on the back of a tough June quarter.
The miner said on Thursday that gold production for the full 2023 was now expected to reach between 320 000 oz and 350 000 oz, down from the previous estimate of between 340 000 oz and 370 000 oz.
This comes after reliability and use of the production drills and the availability of blasting resources were below expectations at Gruyere during the June quarter. These factors, along with a recent significant rain event have negatively impacted the ore and waste mining at the site, Gold Road told shareholders, resulting in the reduced availability of run-of-mine grade ore to the processing plant and production being supplemented by the processing of low-grade ore stockpiles.
Production for the June quarter is now expected to reach between 72 000 oz and 76 000 oz, with the range contingent on the recovery from the rain event.
Gold Road told shareholders that a recovery plan was currently being developed with joint venture partner Gold Fields and the mining contractor, and would include the mobilisation of new drilling equipment, additional blasting resources and an additional mining fleet during the September quarter. The timing for the mobilisation and commissioning of these resources would impact total mining movement for the year.