4th Quarter Preliminary Production Results
Total gold production for the quarter was 58,965 ounces, a 10% increase from the corresponding quarter in 2010 and a 16% increase on the previous quarter's production (Q3 2011). The resultant gold production was underpinned by record quarterly throughput in the Sukari process plant of 1,066kt (38% higher than the corresponding quarter in 2010 and 11% higher than Q3 2011), as the ramp up to higher production rates continued post-Stage 3 commissioning.
2011 gold production totalled 202,698 ounces, an increase of 35% on 2010 production.
Both the open pit and underground achieved record material movement for the quarter. The open pit delivered greater than 2.4Mt per month material movement for both October and November and 2.8Mt for December. Underground ore production for the quarter increased to 69,898t (up 20% on Q3 2011). With higher material movements from the open pit, the run of mine ore stockpile balance increased by 264kt to 720kt by the end of the quarter.