JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Russian gold miner Trans-Siberian has posted record fourth-quarter production and managed to slightly exceed its full-year guidance, despite operational challenges in the year.
The Asacha gold mine, in Kamchatka in Far East Russia, produced a record 12 244 oz of gold in dore in the fourth quarter, bringing full year output to 36 714 oz.
The fourth-quarter gold in dore production was a 15.8% quarter-on-quarter improvement and a 27.8% year-on-year increase. The full-year production was 4.5% more than that of 2016.
Refined gold production jumped 18% year-on-year and 9.5% quarter-on-quarter to 9 858 oz, although full-year refined production decreased by 4.2% to 33 872 oz.
The refined output was slightly down owing to adverse weather conditions at the mine site that prevented most of the gold produced in December being sent to the refinery. Trans-Siberian said that it would refine the metal and sell it in January, as soon as weather conditions improved.
Silver in dore production jumped 35.6% quarter-on-quarter to 21 291 oz in the three months ended December and full-year production was up 4.5% to 57 072 oz. Refined silver output increased by 14.7% quarter-on-quarter to 16 315 oz. Total refined silver output for the year came to 52 745 oz, which was a 2.6% year-on-year improvement.
The company estimates that its gold sales for 2017 amounted to $42.7-million.
Meanwhile, Trans-Siberian noted that it had received a $2.5-million claim from the Federal Service for Supervision of Use of Natural Resources, RosPrirodNadzor (RPN), over the payments for disposal of waste materials following a site inspection in 2016.
“Having taken appropriate advice, the management believe that they have a strong legal position and as such, dispute the claim made by RPN,” the company said.