An unprecedented amount of ore was produced at the Gruyere gold mine owned by Gold Road Resources during the December quarter of 2021.
In its December quarterly report, the company indicated that Tier 1 gold operations mined 3.2 million tons (Mt) of ore, an increase of 0.6 Mt over the previous quarter. A significant increase in process plant utilization also contributed to a record quarterly throughput of 8.9 Mt per annum.
Goldeer’s December quarter 2021 production was 67,813 ounces at an all-in-sustaining cost of $1526, compared to September’s 59,371 at a cost of $1697.
A record quarterly processing throughput and improved head grades were principal reasons for the quarter-over-quarter improvement.
Due to labour shortages and wet weather at Gruyere in December, quarterly production was slightly behind expectations. This was due to delays accessing the stage two open pit’s higher grade portions.
Average mined grade rose to 1.00 grams per tonne (g/t). Due to the delayed progress on advancing to the higher-grade parts of the stage two pit, the results were lower than expected for the quarter.
Mining will continue at a higher grade through 2022 as deep sections of stage two pit are mined along with higher-grade oxide from stage three pit.
A $1.277 – $1.470 attributable artificial intelligence services charge per ounce is expected in 2022, with annual production guidance between 300,000 and 340,000 ounces (150,00 – 170,000 attributable ounces).