Safety-related stoppages and the slow start-up following the Christmas break impacted on JSE-listed Village Main Reef’s gold production for the third quarter ended March 31, 2013, decreasing output by 9% to 44 806 oz.

However, the diversified miner’s antimony production increased by 14% on the December quarter to reach 1 433 t, chiefly on the back of an improved ore mix following the imple-mentation of a more focused ore reserve man-agement strategy at the Consolidated Murchison (Cons Murch) gold and antimony mine.

Village joint CEO Marius Saaiman said the March quarter was traditionally a weak production period for the gold mining industry.

“The downtime in production over the festive season, combined with the safety-related stoppages arising from the fatal accidents at our Tau Lekoa and Buffelsfontein mines, resulted in lower production volumes,” he said.

However, there were notable achievements during the quarter, the most significant of which was the Blyvooruitzicht (Blyvoor) mine’s return to operational stability and its positive contribution during February and March following industrial strike action late last year.

At Cons Murch, antimony and gold production increased by 14% and 38% respectively, along with the initiation of a new disposal process, which, the company said, attracted a number of interested parties.

Village also took a significant step towards diversifying its asset portfolio, through an investment in Continental Coal, which Saaiman believed had set the company firmly on a path to becoming a diversified resources investment company.

Operations
Gold production at Tau Lekoa declined by a considerable 24% to 20 865 oz in the March quarter, compared with the December quarter, and was largely the result of safety-related stoppages following a fatal accident and the impact of lower production volumes on the overall mining mix, resulting in a lower recovered grade.

Production volumes and the mining mix improved towards the latter part of the quarter, following specific interventions and the implementation of safety improvement plans.

“We expect these efforts to positively affect production during the June 2013 quarter,” Saaiman said.

Gold production at Buffelsfontein declined by 31% to 7 150 oz for the quarter on the back of a number of stoppages at the high-grade 2 Shaft, resulting in almost no contribution from this shaft during the quarter.

In addition, safety stoppages following a fatal accident at the high-volume 6 Shaft had a significant impact on both production volumes and grade.

“The action plans arising from an indepen- dent safety system audit have been imple- mented and we continue to strategise to derisk the operation from ongoing safety stoppages,” he emphasised.

Cons Murch delivered 1 433 t of antimony and 2 806 oz of gold for the March quarter, an improvement of 14% in antimony and 38% in gold, compared with the December quarter.

Production improved mainly as a result of an improved ore mix following successful implementation of a focused ore reserve management strategy, resulting in more consistent production volumes throughout the quarter.

Production at Cons Murch was expected to remain stable in the coming quarter, with the potential for additional production from the Gravelotte decline as reef was intersected.

Gold production at Blyvoor amounted to 13 985 oz, a 49% improvement on the December quarter.

Production volumes from underground operations improved significantly following improved labour relations, combined with the positive impact of more available working areas resulting from the re-establishment of affected panels after the seismic event in the previous quarter.

In line with the overall turnaround strategy, a revised fall-of-ground management strategy and ore reserve management techniques were implemented at Blyvoor during the quarter.

“Blyvoor successfully concluded a restruc- turing plan during the quarter, resulting in some 960 employees being retrenched. Though regrettable, the resulting cost benefit thereof should be evident in the June quarter and will contribute to the ongoing sustainability of the mine,” Saaiman said.