Mining News: News Nuggets: Fort Knox helps keep Kinross on track
Kinross Gold Corp. July 29 reported that its Fort Knox Mine in Interior Alaska produced 116,061 ounces of gold during the second quarter of 2015, a 40 percent jump over the 82,673 oz recovered during the first three months of this year. Kinross attributes the output to higher grade mill material and the seasonal impact of warmer weather on heap leach performance. Lower fuel and power costs, combined with the higher mill grades and more ounces sold, has driven down the cost per ounce of Fort Knox gold sold during the quarter. Kinross sold 113,938 oz of gold produced at Fort Knox for a production cost of US$606 per oz during the second quarter of 2015, compared to 85,938 oz at US$834/oz during the same period last year. The strong performance at Fort Knox helped offset some of the production losses that resulted from a nearly two-month partial shutdown of operations at the Maricunga Mine following extremely heavy rains in northern Chile during March, which caused heavy damage to local infrastructure. Kinross produced 660,898 gold-equivalent oz across all of its operations during the second quarter, down slightly from the 679,831 gold-equivalent oz produced during the same period of 2014. Kinross said it is tracking at the high end of 2015 production guidance of 2.4- to 2.6-million gold-equivalent oz for the year. “Kinross continued to deliver on its targets, with production in the first half of 2015 tracking at the high-end of guidance for the year, and all-in sustaining cost tracking at the low-end of the full-year forecast. The company achieved these results despite a temporary suspension of operations at Maricunga and fewer ounces sold due to timing of some gold sales, which, together with a decline in the gold price, impacted earnings,” Kinross CEO J. Paul Rollinson commented. Kinross’ reported net loss for the quarter was US$83.2 million, or roughly US7 cents per share. A US$24.5 million inventory write-down at Maricunga accounted for a large portion of this loss. Despite the loss, Kinross bolstered its cash and cash equivalents by US$20.9 million, to US$1.03 billion during the second quarter. “With strong liquidity, including more than $1 billion in cash on the balance sheet, Kinross is well-positioned to weather the current market volatility,” Rollinson added.
- Shane Lasley
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