, the gold producer, announced its production and operational results for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 on Monday.){kind=link}
Shanta Gold says it remains on track to become a mid-tier gold producer in Africa
Shanta Gold (AIM:SHG), the East Africa-focused gold producer, announced its production and operational results for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 on Monday.
The update is regarding its East African assets, including New Luika Gold Mine (NLGM) and Singida Project in Tanzania and West Kenya Project in Kenya.
Shanta Gold cut its production guidance for the current year due to lower output in Q2 and a revised operating plan.
However, it also said it remains on track to become a mid-tier gold producer in Africa.
The company’s gold production of 14,201 ounces, down from 14,641 ounces in Q1, was restricted by lower than anticipated grades from underground mining.
Its annual production guidance for 2021 has been revised to 60,000–65,000 ounces at AISC of $1,325–$1,375 per ounce.
In better news Shanta Gold completed the installation and ramp-up of it third mill at New Luika resulting in throughput of 2,450 tonnes per day being achieved by the end of the period, higher than anticipated.
On Monday the AIM-listed company also released a new five-year plan for its gold assets in Tanzania, including a reserves and resources update for NLGM.
Eric Zurrin, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We’ve had some real exploration success at Shanta Gold during 2021 leading to the positive five-year outlook that we’ve outlined this morning transforming us to a 110,000+ ounces gold producer by 2023. We’re proud and excited about this growth in our business and look forward to taking our investors on the journey with us over the next few years.”
“Whilst we are looking forward to the future, we are disappointed that we will be reducing this year’s production guidance to 60,000 – 65,000 oz. Whilst this is partly due to a deferral of ounces to 2022 onwards, it is not the outcome we hoped for this year. Our softer production for Q2 has also meant that our revenues have been slightly reduced for the quarter but we are pleased to confirm that we have received US$4.2 million in VAT offsets as we work with the Tanzanian government to clear the outstanding balance.”