JOHANNEBSURG (miningweekly.com) – LSE-listed Nordgold has met its full-year production guidance – delivering output of 950 000 oz for 2015 – and expects to increase output to 1.01-million ounces in 2016.
This came om the back of a 21% quarter-on-quarter increase in production to 241 000 oz for the fourth quarter of the year.
“We have again delivered on our objectives for the year, achieving solid production results, while maintaining our sharp focus on costs.
“Our strong balance sheet, with no major debt payments due until 2018, and consistent free cash flow generation, enable us to continue investing in our exciting pipeline of low-cost development projects, while delivering robust returns to our shareholders, despite the weaker price environment,” CEO Nikolai Zelenski commented.
Nordgold’s consolidated all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for 2015 were $790/oz – in line with guidance of $750/oz to $800/oz. AISC for 2016 would be between $800/oz and $850/oz.
Meanwhile, Zelenski noted that construction of the miner’s 120 000 oz/y Bouly mine construction, in Burkina Faso, was firmly on track and, as such, the company expected production to start in the second half of the year.
Nordgold’s Bissa and Taparko mines, in Burkina Faso, produced 235 300 oz and 83 200 oz of gold respectively in 2015, while the Lefa mine, in Guinea, produced 214 200 oz.