PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper/gold miner PanAust on Wednesday announced that it would cut nearly 5% of its staff numbers, or 182 workers, in an effort to reduce costs.

The staff reduction was expected to result in some $15.5-million of annual operating cost savings.

Some expatriates working at PanAust’s Laos operations would be replaced by workforce from the local communities, the company said on Wednesday, adding that various personnel training programmes over the last ten years of operations were now starting to bear fruit.

Further reduction in employee numbers have been flagged for later in the year, through natural attrition and as a number of employment contracts expired, the miner said.

The staff reductions come as PanAust implemented a business efficiency review, which was aimed at streamlining the company’s business process and systems, as well as ensuring that the company was appropriately resourced for sustainable operations over the envisaged mine lives.

“PanAust’s operations are well established and globally competitive. The company is now in an even stronger position to meet the challenges associated with a weaker commodity price environment with all-in sustaining costs at our operations allowing for healthy margins at prevailing prices,” said MD Fred Hess.

“Its always a difficult decision to reduce staff numbers. These organisational changes are necessary to ensure our operations continue to remain competitive and reflect the company’s priorities in 2015 of efficiency optimisation at existing operations, and advancing the Frieda River project towards a development decision.”

Hess said that by focusing on improving efficiencies, PanAust would maximise the value of its existing operations through enhanced cash flow generation.

Copper production from the Phu Kham operation was expected to increase by some 30% over the next several years, without the need for further capital investment, while the Frieda River project was expected to sustain copper output to well within the next decade.