Global gold producer Nordgold's operations delivered 264 900 oz of gold production in the third quarter of the year, with healthy operating performance from the Gross, Taparko, Irokinda, Berezitovy and Suzdal mines having offset lower output from other operations.
Production was, however, lower than the 293 200 oz produced in the third quarter of 2019 and the 281 400 oz produced in the second quarter of this year.
CEO Nikolai Zelenski says the strong performance this year has been driven by the new Gross mine and that the time that has been spent de-risking the project, refining the mine’s geological model and appointing a strong management team has paid off.
The Gross mine, in Russia, produced 214 000 oz of the 772 000 oz of gold produced by all of Nordgold's operations in the nine months ended September 30.
Meanwhile, the company undertook maintenance in the third quarter at the Bissa (Burkina Faso) and Lefa (Guinea) operations, which should support production from next year.
The Bissa mine's output for the nine months to September 30 decreased by 12% year-on-year, as a result of lower processed volumes in the third quarter caused by maintenance of the ball mill and its associated infrastructure, as well as lower-grade ore mined and processed at the start of the year.
The Bouly mine’s production was impacted on by heavy seasonal rain and less robust agglomeration when processing ultrafine or dry ore in the third quarter, as well as lower heap leach stacking volumes – owing to repairs of conveyor belts and other equipment at the start of the year.
The company is addressing challenges to achieve a higher recovery from the processing plant from the last quarter of this year and into next year.
This while the Lefa operation’s output was impacted by lower processing volumes in the third quarter, related to planned maintenance of mills.
Meanwhile, Nordgold continues to progress work on a preliminary economic assessment for the Tokkinsky gold project, in Russia, and will continue exploration fieldwork at the Pistol Bay project, in Canada, next year.
The company expects a deal to close soon whereby the Nioy and Niou Sud permits, in Burkina Faso, will be transferred from Mako Gold to Nordgold.
Nordgold has a portfolio of ten mines in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as a number of exploration projects in West Africa, Eurasia and the Americas.