By FRANK ASAELI
LIHIR Gold Ltd expects to see another significant boost to production this year with milled ore being predicted to rise to more than six million tonnes due to the miner’s expanded milling capacity for the full 12-month period.
Material movements at Lihir Island are expected to be maintained at about 55 million to 60 million tonnes for the year, managing director Arthur Hood said.
Mr Hood announced this on the Port Moresby Stock Exchange (POMSoX) last Jan 30.
He said head grade to the mill is expected to reduce to approximately four to 4.5 grams per tonne (gpt), closer to the average grade for the Lienetz pit.
“This is partly due to the stage of pit development, but also because of increases in plant throughput, which have naturally led to reductions in the average grade for mill feed,” Mr Hood said.
Autoclave feed grade is forecast to be approximately 5gpt to 5.3gpt, benefiting from the use of the flotation circuit.
It was said earlier, the new oxygen plant has been delayed due to defective components.
The plant, which has a capacity of 10 tonnes/hour of oxygen and lifting total plant oxygen production capacity to approximately 82 tonnes/hour, is not expected to be in production before the end of the second quarter.
Consequently, total production from Lihir Island for this year is anticipated to be in the range of 700,000oz to 770,000oz, with the final outcome depending on ore grade and normal operating variability.
Meanwhile, at Ballarat, production for the current year is expected to be approximately 40,000oz to 50,000oz.
Mr Hood said: “This will take total production for the group to between 740,000oz to 820,000oz, which will be a record for the company.”
He said unit costs for the current year will be influenced by the level of production, fuel prices and exchange rates in particular.
However, while higher than prior periods, LGL’s costs would continue to benefit from the use of geothermal power, helping the company to maintain its position at the lower end of the industry cost curve.
“On the whole, 2008 should be an exciting year for the company as we bring Ballarat into production and reap the benefits of the expansion projects undertaken in 2007.
“We continue to make progress on plans to lift production in the future, our unhedged position enables us to take full advantage of the strength in the gold price, and our ungeared balance sheet provides enormous financial flexibility.”
The full year financial results will be released to the market on Feb 22.