Newcrest Mining Ltd posted a 13% drop in fourth-quarter gold output on Thursday, hurt by lower contributions from both its flagship Cadia mine in Australia and Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea.
Production fell to 573,175 ounces in the quarter ended June 30, comfortably beating a UBS estimate of 547,000 ounces. However, it was down from 661,414 ounces a year earlier, partly due to the sale of the Gosowong mine in Indonesia.
Australia’s biggest listed gold miner reported total gold production well within an already lowered forecast range of 2.1 million ounces to 2.2 million ounces for the 2020 financial year, in the absence of planned shutdowns and maintenance work in prior quarters.
The miner’s stock has gained about 13% so far this year, driven by a surge in gold prices as the coronavirus pandemic spurred safe-haven demand.
Newcrest said despite the risks from the pandemic, annual production from the Cadia mine exceeded the top end of its forecast range.
All-in sustaining costs for the group in the quarter were $878 per ounce, up from $720 a year earlier.
(By Arundhati Dutta; Editing by Sandra Maler and Subhranshu Sahu)
Comments