24th Apr 2019 08:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - Centamin PLC on Wednesday reiterated annual guidance as gold production beat expectations in the first quarter of 2019.
Centamin shares were up 3.8% in morning trade at 82.90 pence each.
The gold mining company's production from the Sukari mine in Egypt was 116,183 ounces for the three months to the end of March, a 16% reduction compared to 137,600 ounces produced in the prior quarter. In the first quarter of 2018, gold output was 124,296 ounces.
Centamin had expected to produce between 105,000 ounces and 115,000 ounces in the first quarter.
Unit cash costs were USD631 per ounce, a 9% increase year-on-year and 4% increase quarter-on-quarter.
Gold sales totalled 111,365 ounces in the quarter, down 25% from 148,851 ounces sold in the final quarter of 2018 and down 15% from 131,045 ounces sold a year earlier.
The company said the open pit performed broadly in line with expectations and underground performed better than hoped.
Total material mined from the open pit was 21.0 million tonnes, a 14% increase on 18.5 million tonnes the prior year, driven by improvements to the mining sequence and routine workplace training.
On the quarter-on-quarter basis, total materials mined declined 0.4% from 21.1 million tonnes.
All sections of the underground performed well, the company highlighted, with technological improvements and new processes and controls being valuable drivers in performance.
Total ore mined from underground was 270,000 tonnes, down 14% compared to the year before and the final quarter of 2018, due to increased waste material movement of 69,000 tonnes, more than tripled year-on-year.
During the first quarter, Centamin completed 15,206 metres of drilling at Sukari, it said, unlocking more reserves and resource growth potential, including the continuation of high-grade structures.
Looking ahead, the company reiterated 2019 guidance with it on track to deliver gold production of 490,000 ounces to 520,000 ounces, at cash costs of between USD675 and USD725 per ounce produced.
Centamin will release its three-year outlook, including 2020 and 2021 guidance, in the second quarter of 2019.
"We have made a solid start, delivering the first quarter ahead of expectations. Despite being the weakest quarter forecasted for 2019, it is encouraging to see the systems and process upgrades across all sections of the mine positively impacting performance," said Chief Executive Andrew Pardey.
"The company is on track to deliver annual production and cost guidance for 2019. The focus remains firmly on delivering continued operational progress through tight compliance to plan," added Pardey.
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