Initial production in chile gold project, is expected to begin in April, the company said in a release, adding that production for 2024 has been revised downwards and is now expected to be in the range of 220,000 to 250,000 gold equivalent ounces.
Stable monthly production is still expected early next year. Gold Fields said projected production for 2025 and 2026 remains unchanged at about 600,000 ounces of gold equivalent per year.
Related News
- Probe Gold Reports High-Grade Gold Intersections from Monique Drill Program at Novador Property in Quebec
- Global gold mine production to recover, with Ghana and the US contributing most
- Epiroc’s first autonomous Pit Viper rig in Canada is coming to Iamgold’s Côté gold project
- South Africa: Gold One Clamps Down On Striking Miners
- Adelong Gold’s exploration permits granted in Brazil’s Lithium Valley
Construction on the $1 billion open-pit mine began in January 2021 and is now substantially complete, more than a year after its original deadline. Various technical and environmental setbacks, including the removal and relocation of a colony of critically endangered chinchillas living in the area, have hampered progress. The mine’s initial environmental permit depended in part on finding a way to safely remove the animals.
Production was originally scheduled to begin in early 2023, but ongoing delays have caused the company to miss deadlines multiple times, most recently in December.
The company said it missed the latest deadline because of the need for additional work on “critical safety aspects” related to certain elements of the mine circuit, labor availability and late configuration changes required by the equipment manufacturer.
Detailed guidance on the project’s ten-year production and total costs, revised capital costs and any feedback on the independent review and verification process will be provided in February alongside the company’s full-year 2023 results.
Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and the second-largest lithium producer after Australia, but ranks only the 23rd global gold producer, according to the World Gold Council.
