PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Northern Star Resources has reported record gold production for the quarter ended June, allowing the company to reach the top end of its full-year guidance.

Gold production during the June quarter increased to 154 116 oz, from 125 753 oz in the previous quarter, with full-year production reaching 514 735 oz, which was within the guidance range of between 485 000 oz to 515 000 oz.

Executive chairperson Bill Beament said on Thursday that the June quarter results marked the start of the next chapter for Northern Star’s growth, with the stellar results from the Jundee and Kalgoorlie operations a direct result of investment that was made in exploration and production growth.

The Jundee mine delivered 84 854 oz of gold during the quarter, and exceeded full-year production expectations to deliver 233 566 oz of gold, while the Kalgoorlie mine delivered 57 173 oz of gold in the quarter and 225 688 oz of gold in the full year.

The Paulsens operation delivered another 14 676 oz of gold during the three months to June and contributed 55 490 oz to full-year production.

“We are now reaping the rewards of this investment, as shown by the significant increase in our 2018 production guidance, and we will continue to do so for many years to come,” said Beament.

In 2018, Northern Star is expecting to produce between 525 000 oz and 575 000 oz of gold.

Meanwhile, Beament noted that the gold miner invested some A$180-million over the past three years to grow the mineral inventory in the group’s portfolio, with the investment to fall to A$35-million in 2018, as the company believed the visibility across its Tier 1 assets has been achieved.

“We have also allocated A$65-million to expansionary capital for this financial year to bring that increased inventory into production in 2018 and beyond. Its been very pleasing to see the business grow organically and produce a sector leading return on invested capital in what has arguably been the most capital intensive phase in the company’s history.”

Northern Star finished the quarter with A$447-million cash and equivalents, an increase of A$54-million on the previous quarter.