Russian gold miner Polyus is confident that it will achieve its production guidance for the year, following a “robust” operational performance in the third quarter.
The company, which trades on the Moscow and London stock exchanges, produced 691 200 oz of gold, a 15% improvement on the 602 000 oz produced in the second quarter. Year-on-year, volumes of gold output rose 8%.
Volumes of ore mined amounted to 12.67-million tonnes in the third quarter, a 36% increase on the previous quarter and 28% increase year-on-year. Volumes of ore processed were up 5% on the previous quarter at 10.38-million tonnes.
During the third quarter, gold sales amounted to $821-million, up 20% compared with the previous quarter, with an estimated weighted-average gold selling price 7% below that of the second quarter at $1 209/oz.
"Polyus delivered another robust operational performance in the third quarter. Our debottlenecking initiatives at Olimpiada, Blagodatnoye and Kuranakh are progressing well, each posting a gradual increase in throughput. We remain focused on addition of profitable ounces within the perimeter of existing operations as this is where we see the greatest opportunity for ongoing value-creation,” commented CEO Pavel Grachev.
With 1.8-million ounces of gold produced during the nine months of 2018, the company is confident of delivering on its production guidance of 2.375-million to 2.425-million ounces for the full year.