Gold Road Resources Limited (ASX: GOR) today announces its December 2021 Quarter activities report alongside a resource upgrade for its 100%-owned Yamarna tenements, surrounding and to the south of the world-class Gruyere gold mine.
Gruyere is owned 50-50 with Gold Fields, which operates the mine.
In the December quarter, Gruyere produced 67,813 ounces of gold (100% basis) at an AISC of A$1,526 per attributable ounce (September quarter: 59,371 ounces at an AISC of A$1,697 per attributable ounce).
The improvement quarter-on-quarter was largely the result of increased plant availability supporting record quarterly processing throughput and improving head grades. Despite the improvement, quarterly production was down slightly on expectations due to delays accessing higher grade portions of the Stage 2 open pit, partly attributable to labour force delays and inclement weather at Gruyere during December.
The 2021 full-year production from Gruyere totalled 246,529 ounces (100%), falling slightly below guidance of 250,000 to 260,000 ounces. Gold Road’s attributable production of 123,265 ounces was delivered at an AISC of A$1,558 per ounce, which was above annual guidance of between A$1,450 and A$1,525 per ounce largely owing to lower than expected attributable production during the December quarter.
The 2022 annual production guidance is set to increase to 300,000 – 340,000 ounces (150,000 – 170,000 ounces attributable) at an attributable AISC of between A$1,270 – A$1,470 per ounce. The 2022 annual guidance is based on the COVID-19 pandemic and the re-opening of State borders not leading to material production interruptions.
Gold Road achieved free cash flow before the sale of investments and payment of dividends of $15.7 million for the quarter (September quarter: negative $8.4 million). The company had cash and equivalents of $135.5 million at 31 December 2021 (September quarter: $123.5 million) and no debt drawn.
Gold Road today also reported a 0.21 million ounce (70%) increase to its 100%-owned mineral resources of 6.4 million tonnes at 2.44 g/t Au for 0.51 million ounces amid continued exploration progress on its Yamarna project.
Gold Road’s exploration strategy is focused on delivering economic gold deposits that can be developed as standalone mining operations, creating shareholder value through organic growth.
The company has set its 2022 annual exploration budget at $30 million. A total of 160,000 metres is planned for the year, with a focus on advanced RC and diamond drilling on Gold Road’s 100%-owned Yamarna project.
Gold Road is holding an investor and analyst conference call discussing the December 2021 quarter results today at 11.30am AEDT (8.30am AWST). A live webcast of the briefing will be available on the company’s website. Please register your details at www.goldroad.com.au/webcast or by clicking here.
