Caracal Gold PLC (LSE:GCAT), the gold producer with operations in East Africa, said it increased production in the first quarter.
A total of 44,846 tonnes were delivered from its Kilimapesa Gold Mining and Processing Operations in Kenya to the processing plant, up from 38,351 tonnes in the preceding quarter.
A total of 22,744 tonnes of underground ore at a grade of 1.72 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) was stockpiled during the quarter to be processed on the heap leach pads once completed.
Caracal said 54,121 tonnes of ore (versus 51,732 tons in the fourth quarter of 2021) was processed at an average grade of 1.75g/t Au, resulting in gold sales of 1,226 ounces - an increase of 17% on the previous quarter's sales of 1,047 ounces in the preceding quarter.
The company is targeting production of 24,000 ounces of gold a year, having added significantly to capacity with the start of open-pit workings on Kilimapesa Hill.
In an operations update, the miner said its strategy for the current quarter includes advancing the mining plan at Kilimapesa; pushing ahead with the heap leach operation - completing the test pads and progressing to the construction of the full-scale operation; releasing the reverse circulation and diamond drilling results from exploration at Kilimapesa Hill; updating the resource at Kilimapesa; finalising regulatory approvals on the Tanzanian gold asset acquisitions; and advancing the Nairobi Securities Exchange listing.
“We are delighted with the sterling progress made in the first quarter - with the expansion of our team and appointment of a new mining manager, exploration manager and also the Hon. Ambassador Dan Kazungu and ESG [environmental, social & governance] expert Rachel Johnston. All are a major boon for the company as it commences a next phase of growth acceleration at Kilimapesa and gets ready to fire the starting gun at our new acquisitions in Tanzania,” declared Robbie McCrae, the chief executive officer of Caracal.
"Having stress-tested all aspects of the operations, and brought in the new management team, we are re-evaluating all aspects of the expansion plan and exploration programme.
“The surface exploration work done during the quarter has given us greatly improved confidence in the resource on Kilimapesa Hill and we look forward to updating the resource during the next quarter. We are very pleased with the correlation of the surface drilling and underground operations the structural and grade information gained will assist greatly in better planning of the underground workings going forward,” he added.