Caledonia Mining PLC (LON:CMCL) has shrugged off power outages in Zimbabwe to lift production at the Blanket mine by 7% in its latest quarter.
Gross profits rose 75% to US$8.5mln helped by a higher gold price, though the devaluation of Zimbabwe's currency meant higher net profits but lower earnings per share.
For the nine months of the year so far, profits jumped almost five-fold to US$39.6mln, which again reflected the swings in Zimbabwe's currency.
Cash holdings were US$8mln at the end of September.
Production in the three months to September was 13,646 ounces of gold as output rose in the second six weeks as Caledonia used generators it has installed at the gold mine to keep power running.
Additional diesel-fired generators are currently being installed that should insulate the gold mine fully from any future power issues.
Tonnes milled rose sharply with the grade also slightly up on the previous three months at 3.19 grammes per tonne (g/t).
October saw production rise again to 5,596oz at a grade of 3.55 g/t, and Caledonia is confident it will hit its target of between 50,000 to 53,000oz for the full year.
Total output so far in 2019 is slightly below this time a year ago at 38,300oz,
"On-mine costs remained under control with cash operating costs of $686 per ounce,” Steve Curtis, Caledonia's chief executive said in a statement.
The sustaining cost of US$872 per ounce was higher than a year ago sue to higher government royalty payments and the end of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's gold export incentive structures which had benefitted AISC by approximately $120 per ounce.