Russia, Eligdar reports record gold production in 2022
Russian gold and tin miner Seligdar today announced production results for the full-year 2022.
The company’s gold production in 2022 amounted to a record 243 koz, which is an increase of 6% compared to 2021 (229 koz), whereas production of tin in concentrate was in line with 2021 and amounted to 2,900 tonnes.
In addition, the company produced 81 tonnes of tungsten (up 72% compared to 2021) and 916 tonnes of copper (up 150% compared to 2021).
Seligdar said that the new level of production achieved in 2022 was the result of modernization and expansion of the company’s production asses.
In 2022, the company launched a skarn ore processing plant at the Poisk production complex in the Altai Territory and modernized ore mining and processing facilities at the Sininda production complex in Buryatia.
Seligdar is one of the largest gold mining companies in Russia and a producer of tin, tungsten and copper, Kitco reports.
Bulgaria, Dundee Precious Metals updates life of mine plan
Dundee Precious Metals Inc. has released an updated mineral resource and mineral reserve estimate and said it sees additional production over the life of its Ada Tepe gold mine in Bulgaria.
Highlights of the new life of mine plan include an estimated increase in recoverable gold to concentrate of approximately 66,000 ounces and higher average gold grade of 5.2 g/t, compared to 4.6 g/t in the precious life of mine plan.
The new estimate forsees an average of approximately 16,500 ounces of additional gold production per year for 2023 through 2026.
The updated plan is expected to improve Dundee Precious’s previously issued three-year outlook for gold production, which will be updated with the release of the company’s fourth quarter and year-end 2022 financials on February 16, 2023.
On January 12, 2023, Dundee Precious shares closed at $7.36 and currently trade in a 52-week range of $8.41 and $5.40.
Dundee is a Canadian international mining company with operations and projects located in Bulgaria, Namibia, Ecuador and Serbian. It also has exploration projects in Armenia, Bulgaria and Serbia. Its asset portfolio includes a 10.3% stake in Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. which is developing the 100%-owned Back River gold project in Nunavut.
Dundee’s operating assets include the Chelopech and Ada Tepe mines in Bulgaria and Tsumeb specialty smelter in Namibia, as well as the development stage Timok gold project in Serbia plus the Loma Largo project in Ecuador.
Dundee has previously said it achieved its production targets last year by producing 273,100 ounces of gold and 30.8 million pounds of copper from Ada Tepe and Chelopech. Ada Tepe achieved its highest quarterly production of 2022 in the fourth quarter, producing approximately 28,100 ounces of gold. It produced 94,000 ounces for the year, which was at the higher end of the company’s production guidance.
The updated proven and probable mineral reserve at Ada Tepe consists of 415,000 contained gold ounces and 250,000 contained silver ounces.
“Since commissioning in 2019, Ada Tepe has continued to outperform expectations,’’ said Dundee Precious President and CEO David Rae. “We are confident that Ada Tepe will continue to deliver strong results, supported by this improved life of mine plan.’’
In the fourth quarter Chelopech produced approximately 45,300 ounces of gold and 7.4 million pounds of copper. That brought production for the year to 179,100 ounces of gold and 30.8 million pounds of copper.
The Tsumeb smelter processed approximately174,000 tonnes of complex concentrate, which was below the annual guidance of 185,000 to 200,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, Dundee has said it is finalizing the revised feasibility study for its Loma Largo project in Ecuador, which is on track for production in the first quarter of 2022, Resource World reports.
Dundee Precious Metals produced 273.1 koz of gold
Dundee Precious Metals reported on Tuesday that in 2022, the company produced 273.1 koz of gold, achieving annual production guidance of 250 – 290 koz of gold.
However, according to a press release, the company’s full year 2022 copper output of 30.8 million pounds was slightly below the guidance of 32 – 37 million pounds.
The company said that in 2022, Ada Tepe produced approximately 94,000 ounces of gold, which was towards the higher end of its annual production guidance for the year.
In 2022, Chelopech produced approximately 179,100 ounces of gold and 30.8 million pounds of copper, well-within its annual guidance for gold and slightly below the low end of the range for copper, it added.
“Our mining operations achieved impressive production results in the fourth quarter, as Ada Tepe delivered its highest quarterly gold production of the year and Chelopech continued its track record of strong performance,” stated President and CEO David Rae
He added, “2022 was another strong year for DPM, as we delivered robust gold production, advanced our organic growth projects, and ranked in the 91st percentile among mining and metals companies in the 2022 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment.”
Dundee Precious Metals is a Canadian-based international gold mining company with operations and projects located in Bulgaria, Namibia, Ecuador and Serbia, Kitco reports.
Greece, The utilization of the gold and copper deposits at the Skouries mine can now proceed
Hellas Gold on Thursday announced that the utilization of the gold and copper deposits at the Skouries mine in Halkidiki can now proceed, as the board of parent company Eldorado Gold has approved the decision to invest 680 million euros.
The resumption of the project at Skouries and its entry into the production phase is part of the company’s new investment plan that has been agreed, amounting to €3.1 billion, Ekathimerini reports.
Polymetal marks first gold production at Kutyn mine
The Kutyn heap leach facility is expected have an annual ore processing capacity of 1.3Mtpa.
Gold and silver mining company Polymetal has announced the production of first gold at its Kutyn mine in Khabarovsk, Russia.
Located in Tugur-Chumikan, Khabarovsk, and 114km north-west of the Polymetal-operated Albazino mine and 10km from the sea of Okhotsk, the mine was purchased by the Russian firm in 2011.
Ore from the mine is planned to be processed through a heap leach facility, followed by the Merrill-Crowe process.
Polymetal said it poured first gold at the Kutyn heap leach facility, following the successful completion of construction and commissioning activities.
Subsequently, the facility produced 6Koz of gold. The facility is expected to produce 40,000oz of gold this year and reach the full heap leach processing capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of ore in 2023.
Polymetal group CEO Vitaly Nesis said: “Remote location, severe climate, and unprecedented supply chain disruptions presented major challenges at Kutyn.
“The project team successfully overcame all difficulties to deliver first production six months ahead of the original schedule. This achievement underscores Polymetal’s outstanding track record in project execution.”
Polymetal plans to start processing the refractory ore at the Albazino concentrator in 2025.
The company estimates that between 2023 and 2030, the average annual output of gold will be around 100Koz.
Polymetal said the capital expenditure of the project stood at $110m, marking a 38% icnrease from the original estimate.
The increase in capital expenditure was mainly attributed to higher fuel prices and the impact of Covid-19 on labour and logistics costs.
According to the company’s estimates, the Kutyn mine has JORC-compliant ore reserves of 12Mt of open-pit oxide and refractory ore with 1.1Moz of gold equivalent at a grade of 2.9g/t, Mining Technology reports.
Dundee Precious Metals saw its third consecutive year of record annual gold production in 2021
TSX-listed Dundee Precious Metals saw its third consecutive year of record annual gold production in 2021. Its two gold mines in Bulgaria performed better-than-expected in Q4, while processing at the Namibian Tsumeb smelter fell behind guidance.
“Our mining operations continued to deliver impressive performance in the fourth quarter, driven by a new record for quarterly gold production at Ada Tepe, combined with strong results from Chelopech,” Dundee’s president and CEO David Rae said on January 10.
The Canada-based miner’s consolidated gold production was 310,000oz for 2021, which is at the higher end of the 271,000-317,000oz guidance. This came after production of 82,800oz in Q4.
Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets analyst Dalton Baretto said the consolidated Q4 production beat Canaccord’s forecast of 73,000oz by 13%.
Baretto said the result was due to higher throughput, grades and recoveries at the central-western Bulgarian Chelopech underground gold-copper mine.
Chelopech’s Q4 gold production was 49,000oz, which took the 2021 total for the operation to 177,000oz. This beat the 156,000-176,000oz guidance, but was down from the 179,000oz achieved in 2020.
Chelopech’s 2021 copper production was in line with guidance at 34,700 million pounds after production of 9.2Mlbs in Q4.
Dundee reported that the Southern Bulgarian Ada Tepe mine – which began commercial production in June 2019 – produced 133,000oz of gold in 2021, which compares with guidance of 115,000-141,000oz. Production was 119,000oz in 2020.
The 2021 total came after Ade Tepe produced 33,800oz in Q4, which was “slightly above plan due to higher grades”, Dundee said.
Ade Tepe’s Q4 gold production was in line with Baretto’s forecast.
“The Tsumeb smelter processed approximately 52,000 tonnes of complex concentrate during the fourth quarter, reflecting an 8-day maintenance shutdown to repair a water leak in the offgas system,” Dundee said.
The miner noted that this resulted in the smelter processing about 189,700 tonnes of complex concentrate in 2021, which was below revised guidance of 195,000-200,000t.
Meanwhile, Dundee announced in November that it would supplement its base US$0.03/share quarterly dividend with the repurchase of 152,000 shares at C$7.51/share.
In aggregate, Dundee repurchased 1,723,800 common shares in 2021 at an average price of C$7.64/share, for a total value of about C$13.2 million, the company said.
Baretto said the total value implies an incremental C$0.07/share, and together with the base dividend implies a total trailing 12-month yield of 2.9% at the current C$7.33 share price.
Dundee reports record gold production in second quarter in Bulgaria
Dundee Precious Metals (TSX: DPM) announced strong preliminary production results from both of its mines and the smelter, with consolidated gold production of 85,100 ounces for the three months ended June 30, 2021, which is 5% more than 81,400 ounces produced a year before.
According to a statement, the company’s flagship Chelopech mine in Bulgaria produced 52,600 ounces of gold and 10.0 million pounds of copper during the second quarter. Gold production, which increased significantly compared with the first quarter, was higher than expected as a result of mining higher grade zones and improved recoveries, the company said.
Dundee added that the Ada Tepe mine in Bulgaria continued to deliver strong gold production, producing 32,500 gold ounces in the second quarter, which was in line with the mine plan.
The Tsumeb smelter in Namibia delivered solid performance during the second quarter, the company noted, processing 59,600 tonnes of complex concentrate, an increase compared with the first quarter following the completion of the planned Ausmelt furnace maintenance in March.
With strong performance in the first half of the year, the company said it is on track to meet its previously issued guidance for 2021 at each of its operations.
“We achieved a new record for gold production in the second quarter as a result of strong performance from our mining operations,” said president and CEO David Rae. “Our strong gold production, combined with solid smelter performance in Q2, positions us well to achieve our 2021 guidance at each of our operations”.
Additionally, the company said that, as previously announced in May 2021, and in line with its disciplined capital allocation framework, DPM will pay a quarterly dividend of US$0.03 per share on July 15, 2021 to shareholders of record as at 5:00 p.m. Toronto local time on June 30, 2021.
Dundee Precious Metals is a Canadian-based international gold mining company with operations and projects located in Bulgaria, Namibia and Serbia.
Source: Kitco