South Africa-focused gold mining company Sibanye Gold, which achieved record latest quarter production, is forecasting best ever output for the new year.

Sibanye, headed by CEO Neal Froneman, which hit the 452 700 oz (14 079 kg) quarterly high spot in the three months to December 31, is guiding a best ever 1.67-million ounces (52 000 kg) for 2015.

“We’ve been increasing production year-on-year since listing,” Sibanye senior VP investor relations James Wellsted commented to Mining Weekly on the production performance of the Johannesburg- and New York-listed company, which bills itself as South Africa’s largest individual gold producer and a top-ten player globally.

Sibanye’s total latest quarter cash cost was an impressive $790/oz (R285 000/kg), with $1 040/oz (R375 000/kg) its all-in chalk up.

Last year’s gold production hit the 1.59-million ounces (49 432 kg) guided, despite an underground fire at the Driefontein gold mine and load-shedding by troubled State power utility Eskom, in the December quarter.

Its cost guidance was also on target, with total 2014 cash costs at $850/oz (R295 000/kg) and the all-in cost at $1 080/oz (R376 000/kg).

Sibanye’s Kloof, Driefontein and Beatrix mines produced 1.45-million gold ounces (45 127 kg) in 2014, just over 1% more than in 2013.

Underperformance necessitated a Section 189 restructuring process at the Coke 4 shaft and a slower-than-anticipated build-up at the Cooke Operation overall contributed 138 400 oz (4 305 kg) of gold in the seven months of incorporation of the company’s newly acquired asset outside Randfontein.

Uranium production from Cooke, which continued uninterrupted from May 2014, gave rise to a stockpile of 180 000 lb of uranium by year-end at an average cost in the December quarter of $24/lb.

Uranium production of 250 000 lb is forecast for 2015.

Capital expenditure (capex) of R3.3-billion ($300-million) in 2014 was marginally lower than guided.

However, 2015 capex is set to rise 10% to R3.6-billion ($320-million) on the back of the expenditure needs at the Burnstone gold project and the life-extension plans for the company’s operating mines.

Dollar estimates for 2015 are based on an average yearly exchange rate of R11.20 to the dollar. The average exchange rate for 2014 was R10.82 to the dollar.