MMJV: 15% hike in gold output for Q3

PAPUA New Guinea’s newly-commissioned mine Morobe Mining Joint Ventures (MMJV) has reported a 15 % increase in gold production for the third quarter this year at its Hidden Valley operations.
It also reported exploration drill hole intercepts at the Golpu porphyry copper-gold deposit at the Wafi-Golpu project in Morobe.
MMJV is a 50-50 joint venture between Harmony Gold Mining Co Ltd and Newcrest Mining Ltd.
The Hidden Valley mine was officially opened last month.
In a statement released at the weekend, the 15% increase in gold production was driven by improved recoveries.
It also said cash costs were  reducing in line with expectations as the processing plant ramped up to design capacity.
Hidden Valley’s September quarter performance was 43,144oz of gold and 265,190oz of silver at a gross cash cost of A$1,257 per ounce and a net cash cost of A$1,234 per ounce.
This compares with the June quarter performance of 37,570oz of gold and 231,122oz of silver at a gross cash cost of A$1,259 per ounce and a net cash cost of A$1,323 per ounce.