Regis hits production record in FY18

Regis Resources, Independence Group and Ramelius Resources have all provided production updates for their respective mining operations, while Millennium Minerals says it is on track to ramp-up its gold output by the end of 2018.

Subiaco-based Regis said today it had hit record gold production for the 2018 financial year of 361,373 ounces, after a strong June quarter result in which the gold miner produced 92,000oz.

The result is an 11 per cent improvement on the previous year’s production of 324,000oz.

The positive finish to the financial year has lifted Regis’s cash and bullion position to $208.8 million at June 30.

“It was pleasing to end the year with another very strong operational quarter at Duketon,” executive chairman Mark Clark said.

“Record annual gold production of 361,373 ounces and record quarter-end cash and bullion holdings of $208.8 million are a testament to the quality of the Duketon operations and the team that manage them.”

Shares in Regis were flat at $5.13 each at 12pm AEDT.

Meanwhile, Ramelius provided a quarterly operations update, reporting June output of 58,285oz and full-year production of 208,118oz across its three mines.

The company said cash and gold on hand was $95.5 million at the end of the quarter.

Managing director Mark Zeptner said the quarterly results were pleasing.

“It was particularly encouraging to see further production growth, up to almost 27,000oz, from the Edna May operation where ~21,000oz was being produced only six months ago,” he said.

“We are also pleased with the bottom line cash and gold balance of $95.5 million given the Shannon open pit pre-strip capital cost of $7.6 million wasn’t originally scheduled to occur in this half year.

“The team is working hard on bringing the Shannon and Hill 60 underground mines and Eridanus open-pit project into ore reserves as well as the pivotal Edna May open-pit stage three/underground work that is in progress.”

Independence Group reported its preliminary metal production for the June quarter, which included 467,138oz of gold at the Tropicana mine for FY18.

From the total production, IGO received a 30 per cent share of gold sold, equating to 138,748oz, which was within the guidance range.

At the company’s Nova operation, 22,258 tonnes of nickel were produced, along with 9,545t of copper and 740t of cobalt for the 2018 financial year.

Output at Nova was slightly below guidance for the year, with the company saying a mill liner issued affected the processing plant at the site.

For the quarter, Nova nickel production was up 23 per cent on the previous quarter at 7,344t.

“We achieved a big step up in metal production rate at Nova during the June 2018 quarter driven by better than nameplate mining and processing rates and higher overall grade, which absorbed downtime and lower productivity in the second half of June due to the SAG mill liner issues,” chief executive Peter Bradford said.

Meanwhile, Belmont-based Millennium said it remained on track to increase production to 100,000oz per annum by the end of 2018 as it implemented a new strategy focused on higher-grade ore sources.

The mining of high-grade ore is set to commence from three key deposits – Golden Eagle, Au81 West, Redbeard and the Bartons Underground – which will collectively increase gold production at Millennium’s Nullagine operation in the Pilbara.

The company has forecast a production guidance of 20,000-22,0000z for the September quarter increasing to 25,000oz in December.

Millennium also provided a production update, with 12,600oz produced in the June quarter, along with 15,1270z sold.