Polymetal boosts Q1 gold output 24%
MOSCOW. April 16 (Interfax) - Polymetal International plc, the controlling shareholder in Russian silver and gold miner OJSC Polymetal , boosted gold production 24% year-on-year in Q1 2012 to 101,000 oz, the company said in a statement.
Silver production soared 74% to 5.7 million oz while copper production fell 11% to 1,555 tonnes.
Gold sales were up 13% to 105,000 oz and silver 99% to 5.9 million oz. Copper sales also rose, by 75% to 1,884 tonnes.
Polymetal's sales revenue grew 64% year-on-year in Q1 to $377 million, according to unaudited management accounting.
Polymetal operating results for Q1 2012:
| Q1 2012 | Q1 2011 | % | |
| Waste mined, mln tonnes | 18,691 | 18,752 | 0% |
| Underground development, '000 m | 11,159 | 7,715 | 45% |
| Ore mined, mln tonnes, of which: | 3,111 | 1,893 | 64% |
| - open pit | 2,708 | 1,591 | 70% |
| - underground | 0,404 | 0,301 | 34% |
| Ore processed, mln tonnes | 2,196 | 1,683 | 30% |
| Production: | |||
| - gold, '000 oz | 101 | 82 | 24% |
| - silver, mln oz | 5,7 | 3,2 | 74% |
| - copper, '000 tonnes | 1,555 | 1,744 | -11% |
| - gold equivalent*, '000 oz | 203 | 145 | 41% |
| Sales | |||
| - gold, '000 oz | 105 | 93 | 13% |
| - silver, mln oz | 5,9 | 3 | 99% |
| - copper, '000 tonnes | 1,884 | 1,079 | 75% |
| Revenue, $ mln | 377 | 229 | 65% |
*) Based on 1:60 Ag/Au and 5:1 Cu/Au conversion ratios
"First quarter operating performance was strong, with gold equivalent production growing 41% year-on-year to 203 Koz on the back of strong improvements at Omolon and Dukat. Additional 32 Koz of payable gold is contained within 21,800 tonnes concentrate produced at Albazino during the quarter," the company said. The company told Interfax that this amount was not included in the Q1 totals and would be processed at the Amursk plant. In total, 61,000 oz gold in concentrate has been stockpiled and some of it might be sold to China in Q2-3.
Planned gold equivalent production this year as a whole is over 1 million oz.
Jersey-based Polymetal International plc is the holding company of OJSC Polymetal , which is the country's largest silver producer and one of its leading gold producers. The company's enterprises are located in the Magadan and Sverdlovsk regions, the Khabarovsk territory, in Chukotka and in Kazakhstan.