Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Gran Colombia Gold (TSX: GCM) announced on Tuesday that it produced a total of 18,129 ounces of gold in May, about 98% of gold production in the same month last year.
The largest underground gold and silver producer in Colombia reported total gold production for the first five months of 2020 of 86,978 ounces compared with 99,601 ounces in the first five months of 2019, reflecting the impact of covid-19.
The company expects to update its 2020 annual production guidance when it reports its mid-year financial results in August.
“We are continuing to operate at both Segovia and Marmato as the covid-19 national quarantine in Colombia lingers on. In May, we benefitted from a full month of near normal operations at Segovia and expect the same for June,” said CEO Lombardo Paredes in a media release.
“At Marmato, access to workers remained limited in May and we produced about half of what we normally would have expected for the month. We expect June’s production could reach about 75% of normal.”
Segovia operations resulted in gold production of 16,915 ounces compared with 16,363 ounces in May last year. The company said it expects June’s production at Segovia will be in the same range as in May.
At Caldas Gold’s Marmato mine the company processed an average of 554 tpd in May with an average head grade of 2.5 g/t resulting in gold production of 1,214 ounces for the month. Gran Colombia expects that its production for the month of June will improve to approximately 2,000 ounces of gold.
Midday Tuesday, Gran Colombia’s stock was down nearly 2% on the TSE. The company has a $410 million market capitalization.
