Pan African Resources plc (LON:PAF) produced 37,729 ounces of gold during the first quarter of the 2019 financial year.
And chief executive Cobus Loots struck an optimistic tone when commenting on the likely performance for the rest of 2019.
WATCH: Pan African Resources repositions after challenging year
“With Elikhulu now commissioned and running at design capacity, we are confident of achieving our production guidance of approximately 170,000oz for the 2019 financial year,” he said.
“Elikhulu ramped-up to its design capacity of 1-million tonnes per month during October 2018, ahead of the original schedule and on budget. Average gold recoveries achieved were consistent with our forecasts, with further optimisation of recoveries expected in the short term.”
The incorporation of the Evander Tailings Retreatment Plant into Elikhulu is also proceeding well and is set to which will increase capacity at Elikhulu to 1.2-million tonnes per month.
“Barberton Mines is on track to meet its full-year production guidance of 100,000 ounces,” added Loots.
During the quarter, operations at Barberton accounted for production of just over 27,000 ounces of gold.
Meanwhile, operations are continuing at Evander, ahead of the proposed closure of the operations.
“At Evander Mines, we have commenced mining and vamping of the remnant high-grade stopes as part of the phased closure of the underground mining operations as an initiative to supplement Evander Mines’ production,” said Loots.