4:24 PM
Admin.
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Eritrea-focused miner Nevsun Resources beat its upwards-revised gold production guidance of 300 000 oz for 2012 at 313 000 oz, which was mainly attributable to processing higher grades.
During the fourth quarter ended December 31, the company produced 46 000 oz of gold and the company said it expected to continue producing the yellow metal up to the second quarter this year, by which time construction and commissioning of its copper expansion project would be complete and the company would switch to producing the red metal.
The company said most of the fresh ore was mined from the low-grade areas of the Harena satellite pit and Bisha’s main pit. Cleanup and selective mining of the Bisha main acid and transition ores continued.
Waste mining to expose copper supergene and the push-back of the north-east (NE) hill remained on plan. The NE push-back had exposed additional gold-bearing oxide ores on the periphery of the pit that would be accessed during the first half of the year, while opening the pit for additional supergene ores later in the mine plan.
The mill was on plan for recovery despite blending ultrahigh-grade Bisha main transition ores with lower and subgrade Harena and other stockpiled ores. The ore was highly variable and the company had to carefully manage it to avoid losses to tailings.
The copper plant expansion project was reported to progress on schedule and budget with concentrate production expected in mid-2013.
Nevsun on Wednesday said it expects to produce between 80 000 oz to 90 000 oz of gold during the first half of the year. During the second half of the year, the company expect to produce between 60-million and 80-million pounds of copper, on track to achieve the 200-million pounds of copper the company expects to produce in 2014, which would be the first full copper-producing year.
“Following a very successful 2012, Nevsun looks forward to starting up a world class copper-concentrate production operation and continued expansion of its resources portfolio through generative exploration programmes. Nevsun will also continue to actively evaluate potential acquisition opportunities,” CEO Cliff Davis said.
Nevsun’s NYSE-listed stock on Wednesday traded at $4.55 apiece, having risen in value by 3.17% during morning trade. The company has a market capitalisation of $900.96-million.