PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miner Independence Group has reported record production from its Nova nickel/copper operation, in Western Australia, for the three months to March.
Nickel production reached 8 375 t during the quarter, compared with the 7 574 t in the previous quarter, while copper production increased from 3 482 t to 3 731 t in the same period.
Gold production from Independence’s Tropicana gold mine, also in Western Australia, declined from the 136 891 oz produced in the three months to December, to 123 236 oz.
“The generation of A$89-million of underlying free cash flow during the quarter, while retiring debt, building cash reserves, maintaining returns to shareholders, as well as continued investment in growth, highlights the quality of the Independence portfolio and the continuing strong operational performance from both Nova and Tropicana,” said MD and CEO Peter Bradford.
“A new record quarterly production from Nova, primarily the result of expected higher mined grades, had the effect of delivering record low cash costs, firmly placing Nova as one of the world’s lowest cost nickel operations.
“This, combined with higher realised nickel prices, generated substantial cash flow for the business and positioned Independence to pursue our strategy focused on metals critical for clean energy, both through exploration and by progressing our downstream processing study.”
Bradford noted that Tropicana continued to generate strong free cash flow, with significant opportunities for further value enhancement, including a final investment decision on the A$79.3-million Boston Shaker underground mine, which will deliver first gold in the September 2020 quarter.
The ore from the underground mine would enable Tropicana production to be maintained at between 450 000 oz/y and 500 000 oz/y over the next five years, and would increase the average to 480 000 oz/y over the period.
Looking at the full year, Independence expected nickel-in-concentrate production to reach between 20 250 t and 22 500 t, while copper-in-concentrate production is estimated at between 8 250 t and 9 375 t. Gold production for the full year has been targeted at between 375 000 oz and 412 000 oz.