PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed gold miner Silver Lake Resources has reported a fall in gold production and sales for the quarter ended June, as production from the Wombola Dam openpit mine ceased in April.

Mill production for the three months to June 30, declined to 31 680 oz, compared with the 33 198 oz reported in the previous quarter.

The Daisy Complex delivered some 18 388 oz for the quarter, while the Cock-eyed Bob deposit delivered 4 607 oz. A further 1 508 oz of gold was produced at the Wombola Dam openpit, with ore sourced from stockpiles after mining ceased.

Silver Lake produced 105 477 oz of gold for the full year ended June 30.

Meanwhile, gold sales for the quarter to June 30, declined to 32 905 oz at an average price of A$1 522/oz, compared with the 34 003 oz recorded in the March quarter.

Gold sales for the full year reached 124 209 oz – above the guidance of 120 000 oz.

For the 2016 financial year, Silver Lake was expecting to sell between 125 000 oz and 135 000 oz of gold, with the miner saying on Wednesday that ore feed for 2016 would be sourced from the Daisy Complex and the Cock-eyed Bob underground mines, as well as from the Lucky Bay, Rumbles and Santa area openpit mines.

Evaluations of the Rumbles, Lucky Bay and Santa openpit deposits were finalised during the quarter under review, with Silver Lake taking a decision to start mine production in the first quarter of 2016.

The openpits were expected to have a combined mine life of some 14 months and would produce around 50 000 oz of gold.

Mining options and optimisation studies were also ongoing for a number of near-term sites in the Mount Monger region, including the Majestic and Imperial deposits, as well as the Maxwells underground deposit.

Capital works for the Majestic and Imperial ore sources were planned for the third quarter of 2016, with associated openpit mining slated to start in the fourth quarter and running for a period of two years.

Early exploration results from Maxwells have been encouraging and, based on the exploration programme, drilling was planned to define between 50 000 oz and 100 000 oz of gold within the target area, with the aim of supporting a 180 000 t/y underground operation, producing some 35 000 oz/y.

Subject to ongoing exploration success, the Maxwells underground mine could be introduced into the production portfolio as early as the third quarter of 2017.