OceanaGold Corp. said Feb. 1 that it forecasts reduced full-year 2018 group gold production of between 480,000 and 530,000 ounces, at all-in sustaining costs of between US$725 and US$775 per ounce.
The expected decrease in gold output is attributed to the Waihi project in New Zealand, as the operation will be mining at the lower-grade areas of the underground veins for much of the year. The gold production guidance for the project is between 75,000 and 85,000 ounces.
However, the loss will be partially offset by the Haile gold mine in South Carolina, expected to increase output by 20% to 25% to between 135,000 and 155,000 ounces, as a result of higher throughput rates. Meanwhile, the Macraes project is set to produce between 190,000 and 200,000 ounces of gold during the 12-month period.
Copper production at the Didipio operations in the Philippines is also pegged lower at between 15,000 and 16,000 tonnes, due to treating an increased proportion of lower-grade stockpile material while ramping up the higher-grade production from the newly developed underground mine. The company expects an increased proportion of higher-grade mill feed from underground operations from 2019 and beyond, and estimates gold production this year of between 80,000 and 90,000 ounces.
OceanaGold produced a record 574,606 ounces in 2017, a 37.9% increase from 2016 and within full-year gold production guidance of 550,000 to 600,000 ounces. Copper production, on the other hand, declined 13.1% year over year to 18,351 tonnes, but within the full-year guidance of 18,000 to 19,000 tonnes.
