Mandalay Resources Corporation said it beat its full-year (FY) production guidance for 2021 with consolidated saleable gold equivalent production of 123,002 ounces from its global mining operations, topping its previously reported range of between 105,000 and 117,000 ounces.
The Toronto-based mining company said the level is its highest total since 2017.
Mandalay saw year-over-year production growth of 19% and sales growth of 26% compared to FY 2020, with 38,904 ounces of gold equivalent sold in 4Q 2021.
Costerfield, Mandalay’s flagship operation in Australia, saw its highest-ever quarterly saleable gold equivalent production of 19,507 ounces.
READ: Mandalay Resources completes sale of Cerro Bayo mine in Chile to Equus Mining
“The consecutive year-over-year improvements since 2019 clearly demonstrate the stability at Björkdal and the growing quality of our anchor asset at Costerfield,” Mandalay CEO Dominic Duffy said in a statement.
"Stemming from shipment backlogs, a higher-than-average level of concentrate was sold at Costerfield in December resulting in 26,877 ounces of gold equivalent sold during 4Q. The receipt of cash from December’s shipments however will be recognized in 2022,” he added.
The full-year saleable gold equivalent production of 68,729 ounces at Costerfield represented an 18% year-over-year improvement, according to Duffy, who noted that Mandalay anticipates an incremental improvement to Costerfield’s production profile during 2022 as stoping ramps up at Youle and with the initiation of production from the high-gold grade deposit Shepherd.
Mandalay’s Swedish asset, Björkdal, produced 11,190 saleable gold ounces in the fourth quarter and 45,236 ounces for the full year, while its Cerro Bayo asset – which it just sold to Equus Mining – produced 1,165 ounces.
2022 guidance
For the coming year, Mandalay said it is setting its full-year production guidance at between 118,000 and 130,000 ounces of gold equivalent at an expected cash cost of $700 to $900 and all-in sustaining cost of $1,100 to $1,300.
“The company is also looking forward to following up on the highly successful 2021 exploration campaign with an anticipated exploration spend between $7-$9 million at Costerfield and between $4–$5 million at Björkdal during 2022,” Duffy concluded.
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