PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold major Northern Star Resources has reported a slight drop in gold sales for the quarter ended September, compared with the June quarter, but has maintained its full-year production guidance.

Northern Star on Wednesday reported that gold sales for the quarter reached 369 000 oz, at an all-in sustaining cost of A$1 788/oz, compared with the 402 000 oz sold in the June quarter at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of A$1 650/oz.

During the September quarter, the Kalgoorlie operations sold 215 224 oz, up from the 213 310 oz sold in the June quarter, while sales from Yandal decreased from 121 601 oz to 102 562 oz.

Pogo, in Alaska, sold 51 170 oz of gold, down from the 67 158 oz sold in the June quarter.

Northern Star told shareholders that the September quarter performance was slightly below plan with delayed production expected to be recovered in future quarters, from the Thunderbox mill commissioning and higher grades at Pogo.

Optimisation efforts continue at Pogo with 2023 regarded as a transitional year now that development metres are consistently tracking above plan. Going forward, the focus remains firmly on sustainably lowering Pogo’s cost base, Northern Star said.

The company has maintained the 2023 production and cost guidance of between 1.56-million and 1.68-million ounces at an AISC of between A$1 630/oz and A$1 690/oz, with production weighted towards the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, commissioning of the new expanded mill at Thunderbox, in Western Australia, continues and is on track to reach nameplate capacity of an annualised six-million tonnes a year in the second half of 2023. Openpit mining continued with D Zone pre-strip while underground development and production activities increased from the June quarter.

“The September quarter has delivered a solid platform to leave us on track to achieve our FY23 targets. Importantly, we have maintained a strong safety focus across our three production centres to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of our people. From the December quarter, we will start the rollout of the Critical Risk Program, which reinforces an awareness of the systems and protocols associated with critical risks across our operations,” Northern Star MD Stuart Tonkin said.

“While labour and cost pressures have stabilised in Western Australia, they remain at elevated levels and supply chains, globally, are still under pressure. Northern Star is positioned well with a highly dedicated and professional team to navigate what remains a challenging operating environment. Recent currency movements are expected to have minimal cost impacts in 2023 on our Australian dollar cost base, while our realised gold price in Australian dollar terms remained stable quarter on quarter.

“It has been another busy and successful start to 2023 as we work on executing our profitable growth strategy to create superior value for shareholders. This included the first share buy-back in Northern Star’s history, which we announced during the quarter and started implementing. Our focus remains on safety and sustainably producing profitable ounces from our world class gold assets in the tier-1 locations of Western Australia and Alaska,” said Tonkin.