Newcrest Mining has scraped into meeting its full year production guidance, despite posting lower output in the June quarter as it continued to struggle with disruptions at various operations.
Australia's largest gold miner said it produced 2.44 million ounces of gold and 83,070 tonnes of copper for the full year ended June 30. The numbers were just inside its full year guidance of between 2.4 to 2.6 million ounces of gold and between 80,000 to 90,000 tonnes of copper.
The miner said June quarter gold output was down more than six per cent from the March quarter, and copper production slipped 7.4 per cent, mainly because of production being suspended at its two underground Indonesian mines in February, following a geotechnical incident and lower ore grade at its Cadia mine.
It resumed operations in mid-June but has still not ramped up production fully.
"We have delivered a solid performance considering the challenges we have experienced at some sites," managing director Sandeep Biswas said.
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"We look forward to safely building upon this performance with the continued ramp up of Cadia East and our ongoing operational improvements at Lihir."
The company has been hit by a series of incidents at its mines, which have affected output in the last three quarters. Apart from the incident at its Indonesian operations, Newcrest had faced a lengthy shutdown at its biggest mine - the Cadia gold and copper mine in NSW, in late 2015.
The miner in February posted a 55 per cent slide in first-half profit to $US81 million on the back of the shutdowns and lower gold and copper prices.
On Monday, the group said it reduced its all-in sustaining costs for FY 16 to $US762 per ounce, down 2.3 per cent from $US780 in the previous year.
Despite the jump in gold prices during the last quarter, its average realised gold price for the year was $US1,166 per ounce, down from $US1,221 in the prior year.
Newcrest will detail its full year earnings on August 15.
At 1155 AEST, Newcrest Mining shares were down 48 cents, or two per cent, at $23.57 each.
