Blackham Resources Ltd: Quarterly Activities Report
24.04.2020 | ABN Newswire
Perth, Australia - Blackham Resources Ltd. (ASX:BLK) (FRA:NZ3) (OTCMKTS:BKHRF) provides the following update on its activities for the quarter ended 31 March 2020 ("Q1"), and thereafter:Operations
o March 2020 quarterly gold production of 12,950oz. @ an AISC of A$2,287/oz. (December 2019 quarter 20,003oz. @ A$1,527/oz.)
o The main reason for the poorer-than-expected production performance was due to limited access to high grade ore from the mines during the quarter, requiring the treatment of lower grade stockpiles which decreased ounces produced and increased our AISC. Pre-stripping and pre-mine development resulted in a very high stripping ratio for the quarter of 21.4 (December 2019: 8.7) which also affected AISC for the quarter
o This continued pre-stripping and pre-mine development has meant for the next 18 months, the Company will have access to high grade, accessible ore primarily from the Williamson open pit mine
o Cyclones Blake and Damian resulted in mining being constrained in both the open pits and underground for a longer than expected period
o In our Operations and Corporate Update released to the market on 20 March, it was stated that we expected mining rates to return to normal levels and that we expected to increase our access to high grade free milling ore in March and April. Due to COVID-19 operational disruptions, the expected improvement only occurred in late April
Other production matters were;
o A number of equipment matters, which affected production from the open pits and the underground Golden Age mine. These matters were primarily old equipment that needed replacing, shortages of mining machinery operators which directly reduced planned material movements and impacted negatively on production and a shortage of maintenance staff and replacement parts. The old motor issues of the ball mill have already been highlighted
o COVID-19 Response Plan measures implemented have created unavoidable disruptions to normal operations which affect gold production, primarily with site access, isolation and change is shift rotations
Other matters of note are;
o Site operating cash flow, excluding capital expenditure and preproduction mining, decreased to $7.8m for the March 2020 quarter (December 2019 quarter: $20.6m) because of the lower amount of gold produced and sold
o Capital expenditure and pre-production mining costs for the quarter were $19.5m (December 2019 quarter $14.3). Capital expenditure incurred during the quarter related primarily to the construction of Tailings Storage Facility K, for which 60%-70% of its capacity is currently non-sustaining capital expenditure as it will be utilised for the future Stage 1 Sulphide Expansion
Importantly, all the factors that negatively impacted March 2020 quarter production have been dealt with and the Company expects to see a turnaround in performance and a marked improvement in production for the remainder of the June quarter (in comparison to the March quarter) and steady production levels for the next 18 months.
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About Blackham Resources Ltd:
Blackham Resources Ltd. (ASX:BLK) (OTCMKTS:BKHRF) Wiluna-Matilda Gold Operation is located in Australia's largest gold belt which stretches from Norseman through Kalgoorlie to Wiluna. The Operation now includes resources of 96Mt @ 2.2g/t for 6.7Moz Au all within 20kms of the central processing facility. Blackham has consolidated the entire Wiluna Goldfield within a +1,440km2 tenure package which has historically produced in excess of 4.4 million ounces over a 120-year mining history.
Source:
Blackham Resources Ltd.
Contact:
Milan Jerkovic Executive Chairman Office: +61-8-9322-6418 Jim Malone Investor Relations Mobile: +61-419-537-714