Newcrest's quarterly gold output jumps

Newcrest Mining has kept its full-year guidance unchanged after its December quarter gold production rose 17 per cent.

Gold mining in production

Newcrest Mining has posted a 17.2 per cent increase in gold production in the December quarter. (AAP)

Newcrest Mining's gold production rose 17 per cent in the December quarter, as output increased at four of its mines.

Australia's biggest gold miner produced 612,695 ounces of gold in the three months to December 31, up from 522,917 ounces in the September quarter.

Copper output rose nearly 34 per cent from the preceding quarter to 22,321 tonnes.

Newcrest managing director Sandeep Biswas said all but one of the company's operations improved on the previous quarter.

"I am particularly pleased with Cadia's strong quarter-on-quarter production increase and record low quarterly AISC (all-in sustaining cost) per ounce," Mr Biswas said.

Cadia is located near Orange, in the central west of NSW.

Production at Bonikro in Africa and Telfer in Western Australia also increased, while the company's Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea moderated due to a motor failure in one of its semi-autogenous grinding mills, and production decreased at the Gosowong mine in Indonesia.

All-in sustaining cost for the December quarter was lower, down $69 per ounce to $829 per ounce, primarily driven by increased production from Cadia.

The company has kept its full-year guidance range unchanged at 2.4 to 2.7 million ounces of gold, with production from its Cadia East mine expected to ramp up in the second half of the financial year, along with fewer planned shutdowns.

Cash flow is expected to be positive in the first half of the financial year, but substantially stronger in the second half, Newcrest said in a statement.

Newcrest shares dropped 44 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $22.59.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world