JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX- and JSE-listed Gold One on Thursday reported that its production for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, was 2% lower than forecast at 57 584 oz of gold, chiefly on the back of lower-than-expected output from its Modder East operation.

Modder East’s output for the quarter of 23 201 oz was 14% below guidance, primarily as a result of the ongoing production build-up at the operation following illegal industrial action in June. 

Since the signing of a two-year wage agreement, labour relations at Modder East had been amicable, with management and the National Union of Mineworkers, continuing to work closely together, the company said.

Meanwhile, output at the Randfontein surface operation and the Cooke underground operation exceeded guidance by 7% and 8%, despite the suspension of production at Cooke 4 for the majority of the quarter. The two operations produced 9 633 oz and 24 750 oz respectively.

Despite the disruptions caused by a restructuring process and safety stoppages at the Cooke operation, the recovered grade improved by 15% from 3.16 g/t to 3.64 g/t.

The focus for the Randfontein surface operation would now be the Cooke gold plant optimisation project, which aimed to increase throughput at the plant from 300 000 t/m to 400 000 t/m.

The expansion was on track for completion during the December 2013 quarter. 

Group production for the March 2013 quarter was forecast at 63 500 oz, comprising 25 000 oz from Modder East, 30 000 oz from the Cooke underground operations, and 8 500 oz from the Randfontein surface operations.

Group production for the 2013 full-year was forecast at 300 000 oz.

Meanwhile, Gold One’s cash cost for the December quarter decreased by 6% to $1 296/oz.

The group operating cash flow totalled $15.53-million, with a positive cash flow from Gold One Group’s operations totalling $3.17-million – an improvement on the September 2012 quarter’s loss of $9.19-million.

Gold One ended the quarter under review with a cash balance of $85.3-million.