Ora Banda steadies for a strong 2023

Ora Banda Mining is steadying itself for a year of strong gold production with lower costs at its mining operation in WA’s Goldfields.

Amid rising costs across the industry, the company announced a strategic reset in April last year after a detailed review of its flagship Davyhurst mining and processing operations, about 120km north-west of Kalgoorlie.

It’s a strategy that appears to be beginning to pay off.

The company’s latest December quarterly report has marked overall improvements in mining productivity up by 27 per cent with the same fleet and a 33 per cent increase in mined ounces from the previous quarter.

On the processing front, nearly 292,000 tonnes of dirt was processed at an average grade of 1.4 grams per tonne, an improvement of 11 per cent from the September quarter and just shy of nameplate capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum.

The company’s efforts to clear out the processing bottlenecks resulted in a record-breaking 109,000 tonnes of dirt pushed through the mill in December alone, providing the final cherry on top for the gold miner.

The company sold 11,881 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost, or ‘AISC’ of $2,993 per ounce, however it is hopeful its ongoing operational improvements will put downward pressure on its AISC for the second half of the financial year with guidance in the vicinity of $2,100 to $2,300 per ounce.

Ora Banda says it is on track to churn out 56,000 to 61,000 ounces of the precious yellow metal for the financial year at an AISC of $2,400 to $2,600 per ounce.

The gold miner sold 11,771 ounces during the quarter, generating a sales revenue of just over $31 million and finished the quarter with more than $22 million in the tin.

Ora Banda Mining Chief Executive Officer, Luke Creagh said: “We are now in a really exciting phase of our growth. As the economics of the operation improve and we advance the Riverina Underground Project, we are on a genuine pathway to deliver significant production growth in the next 12 months.”

Part of the new strategy for the company includes developing its Riverina underground mine in the second half of the 2023 financial year which could potentially put the company on the path to increasing its gold production.

An updated mineral resource estimate for the Riverina, due out in the coming month, is set to get a shot in the arm after a concerted exploration effort has doubled the depth of known gold mineralisation from 240m to 480m.

Headline intercepts from the 46-hole diamond drilling blitz include 2.5m at 29 g/t gold from 232m, a 2.4m intercept going 26.4 g/t from 320.6m and a 1.2m hit recording an impressive 51 g/t gold from 257.8m.

The mineralisation envelope remains open in all directions.

Ora Banda’s economics will no doubt benefit from the recent run in the gold price, peaking at a ten-month high of US$1,948 late last week. Interestingly, the demand for the precious yellow metal is benefiting as the Chinese population freely celebrates weddings and festivals after years of strict Covid19 lockdowns. The traditional gift at a Chinese wedding is gold jewellery.

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