Polyus Gold ups Q4 gold output 3% to 464,500 oz
MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) - Polyus Gold International Ltd, the controlling shareholder in No. 1 Russian gold producer Polyus Gold , raised gold production 3% year-on-year in Q4 2013 to 464,500 oz, the company said in a statement.
The company produced 1.65 million oz in 2013 as a whole, up from 1.57 million oz in 2012.
Production guidance for last year was 1.59-1.68 million oz.
Forecast gold production is 1.58-1.65 million oz this year. "The possible small decrease in total gold production is expected to be driven by a planned reduction in mining works at the highest cost alluvial deposits due to the current gold environment, and lower ore grades at Blagodatnoye and Kuranakh," the company said.
The company expects sales revenue fell 12% last year to $2.3 billion as gold prices fell 17%.
In Q4 2013, the company sold 457,000 oz of gold from continuing operations, which was in line with Q4 2012.
The company estimates its gold sales from continuing operations for 2013 will be approximately $2.3 billion, which is 12% lower than last year ($2.6 billion). The estimated realized gold price was $1,386 per ounce, a 17% decrease compared to $1,666 in 2012. In Q4 2013, the estimated realized gold price was $1,269 per ounce, a 25% decrease year-on-year from $1,690).
At December 31, 2013, the company's approximate cash position was $850 million. The company's estimated net debt position was $356 million, compared to the net cash position of $680 million a year ago.
Polyus Gold refined gold production, '000 oz:
| Mine | Q4 2013 | Q4 2012 | Change | 2013 | 2012 | Change |
| Olimpiada | 197,3 | 201,4 | -2% | 691,3 | 653,1 | 6% |
| Blagodatnoye | 111,3 | 111,1 | - | 395,3 | 401,4 | -2% |
| Titimukhta | 37,1 | 33,3 | 11% | 130,8 | 116,8 | 12% |
| Verninskoye | 34,2 | 15,8 | +2-fold | 89,1 | 45,6 | 95% |
| Kuranakh | 33,2 | 35,3 | -6% | 137,6 | 138,3 | - |
| Alluvials | 51,4 | 52,9 | -3% | 205,4 | 214 | -4% |
| Total | 464,5 | 449,8 | 3% | 1 649,5 | 1 569,2 | 5% |
The company expects 2014 capex at $650 million-$750 million, down from an estimated $1.2 billion, which included $223 million in maintenance capex, in 2013. This year's forecast includes $150 million-$200 million in maintenance capex.
Most of last year's capex - approximately $1 billion - went on the construction of a mine at the Natalka field, one of the world's biggest, in the Magadan region.
Polyus Gold said at the end of last year that it was delaying Natalka's launch from the summer of 2014 until the summer of 2015 due to the market situation and technical issues at the site.
The company said on January 30 that the Natalka development and project had been "re-sequenced to ensure funding stability, de-risk the construction schedule and the ramp up and identify additional opportunities for operational improvements." A detailed plan of project improvements is expected to be finalised by the middle of 2014. The plan will benefit from the findings of an additional project assessment review initiated in early January 2014. In the meantime, construction works are continuing onsite, albeit at a slower pace than previously planned. Mining works which commenced in 2013 in accordance with the license terms also continue.
Polyus Gold develops hardrock and alluvial deposits in Russia's Krasnoyarsk territory, the Irkutsk, Magadan and Amur regions and Yakutia. PGIL's chief beneficiaries are firms associated with Suleyman Kerimov (40.22%), Receza Limited, affiliated with Gavriil Yushvayev (19.28%) and Lizarazu Limited, owned by Amirkhan Mori (18.5%).