Guyana Goldfields announces 36,600 ounces of gold for 2019 first quarter

…represents 4% production drop

Guyana Goldfields has produced 36,600 ounces for the first quarter of 2019, an amount the company is confident will lead to the production of as much as 160,000 ounces for the year.
The company made this announcement in its recently released 2019 first quarter summary report. According to Goldfields, this keeps it on track to produce between 145,000 ounces and 160,000 ounces of gold for the year.
The company also sold 38, 200 ounces of gold in the first quarter, earning a gross revenue of US$49.7 million. The amount produced is, however, a drop compared to last year’s first quarter production.
It is understood that the company produced 38, 500 ounces of gold in the same period last year, making this year’s first quarter haul a 4.9 per cent decrease.
“Gold recovery averaged 90.5 per cent for the quarter, compared with 91.7 per cent a year earlier. The company completed the mill expansion which is anticipated to enhance capacity and redundancy of the primary crushing circuit and expected to further lower per unit costs,” the company also informed.
Meanwhile, Goldfield said that work will soon be resuming on its underground mining decline. The decline, the company said, will be extended some 200 metres.
According to the company, this work will be done at its Mad Kiss pit, as part of the early works phase before it begins exploration.
Works are expected to last approximately three months, once the contractor is fully mobilised. These preparatory works, according to the company, are expected to cost US$2 million.

But in this summary, it also speaks of debt. According to the company, its total debt as of last month was US$35 million.
It explained that this debt will be reduced through quarterly payments of US$5 million. In addition, the company is pursuing ways of restructuring its debt.
In January, the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) had projected that for 2019, declarations and exportations are to be pegged at 651,000 ounces. This estimation was established in retrospect to the outcome from 2018, which turned out to be an “encouraging year” for the organisation.
According to the Gold Board, plans are on stream to manage and enhance existing emission control mechanisms, obtain a permanent operation base and fulfilling the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and National Risk Assessment Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism standards and reduce legacy deficit on the Bank of Guyana and the Finance Ministry.
Pending capital projects are also expected to be completed during the next 12 months as well as continued training for staffers of the facility, the entity said.
As of December 31, 2018, total declarations from all sources amount to 613,073 oz, which was 6.22 per cent lower than the figures from 2017. Additionally, the foreign exchange value of exports processed on behalf of dealers and the GGB came to US$443,961,666.
According to the Board, factors which led to the marginal differences between the two years were as a result of inclement weather, impassable roads, and depressed metal prices in the first three quarters of 2018. In the last quarter, there was some “strength” generated by dealers which increased the projection score.
While the Gold Board had blamed inclement weather, impassable roads, and depressed metal prices for the decline, Finance Minister Winston Jordan in August 2018 revealed in the Finance Ministry’s Mid-Year Report 2018, which was laid in Parliament, that the gold sector also suffered a decline of 9.1 per cent for the first half of the year.