PERTH (miningweekly.com) - Junior gold producer Red 5 has reported a bumper quarter at its King of the Hills (KOTH) operation, in Western Australia, delivering 61 705 oz of gold during the three months to June, up from the 40 869 oz delivered in the March quarter.

Quarterly sales volumes reached 58 960 oz, up from the 40 907 oz sold in the previous quarter, resulting in an operating cash flow of A$50.6-million.

“The June quarter has been a watershed period for Red 5, with the KOTH gold mine delivering strong results for the company, both operationally and financially and with a greatly improved safety performance,” said Red 5 MD Mark Williams.

“We have seen four consecutive months of record production since March, underpinning production for the June quarter of 61 705 oz, at a quarterly all-in sustaining cost of A$1 69/oz. As a result, we have achieved the upper-end of our production guidance and mid-range of cost guidance for the second half of 2023.

“The KOTH processing plant also achieved record throughput rates for the quarter. In June, it has been operating at an annualised throughput rate of up to 5.5-million tonnes a year, a significant increase from the original nameplate capacity of four-million tonnes a year, and this rate is expected to be maintained.

“We reached the main orebody of the KOTH open pit in February, which was the key driver of the uplift in feed grades at the process plant. The performance of both the KOTH underground and Darlot underground has also been tracking well, providing higher-grade ore to the mill,” said Williams.

“Based on this strong performance, production guidance for the 2024 financial year has been set at between 195 000 oz and 215 000 oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of A$1 850/oz to A$2 100/oz.

“Our clear focus for the year ahead is to continue delivering safe, consistent and profitable ounces from the KOTH processing hub. This will, in turn, provide us with a platform to execute our longer-term growth strategy,” said Williams.