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Newmont Waihi gold sales up 121% in first quarter
12 May 2008, Source: Newmont Mining Corporation and Lindsay Clark - Gold sales from Newmont Waihi operations were up 121% in the first quarter of 2008 from the first quarter of 2007, Newmont Mining Corporation reports.
Newmont says gold sales were 31,000 oz in the three months to the end of March, up from 14,000 oz in the same period of 2007.
The throughput at Waihi was higher than expected because of a greater proportion of high grade Favona underground ore, Newmont says in its quarterly report.
Newmont says the 2007 first quarter output was affected by a planned mill suspension related to underground mine development at Favona and waste removal at the Martha open pit.
Ore mined from Favona in the quarter was 87,000 dry short tons, compared with 56,000 dry short tons in the 2007 first quarter. An additional 96,000 dry short tons of ore was produced from the Martha mine in the 2008 quarter, with no production in the 2007 first quarter.
Total ore milled was 262,000 dry short tons in the latest quarter, against 17,000 dry short tons in the 2007 quarter.
Gold production was 32,000 oz in the latest three months while only 4,000 oz in the 2007 first quarter.
Denver-based Newmont, which was the world’s third largest gold producer in 2007 after Barrick Gold and AngloGold Ashanti, had strong first quarter results with revenue up 59% from the year ago quarter to US$1.9 billion with an average realized gold price of US$933 per oz.