Amara Mining Share News (AMA)

West African gold miner Amara Mining has maintained its full year production guidance despite a slow first half. Total gold production was cut 30% at the AIM- and Toronto-listed company, which decided to sell only 59% of gold produced in the second quarter due to the volatile gold price. Cash costs were high at its principal Kalsaka mine during the quarter as it approaches the end of its life, with low grades and high stripping rates in the first quarter leading to high costs in the second at a time when the gold price collapsed, which also led to a $1.5m impairment against its gold stockpile.But, with mining now ceased and Amara planning to sell its stockpile, Kalsaka is expected to be cash generative in the second half.Management have maintained full-year 2013 production guidance of 50,000-60,000oz as the company expects its newly integrated Sega mine to deliver "significantly higher gold flow" in the fourth quarter. The company completed major cost cutting measures and operating efficiencies during the half year to June, looking to effect a $2.2m annualised decrease in costs from a decimation of the headcount and trimming of director pay by the year end, with further admin cost cutting to boot. With the drilling programme completed and exploration focused on low cost target generation work only, Chief Executive Officer Peter Spivey was in confident mood. "In challenging market conditions it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture," he said. "At the halfway point in the year, Amara has delivered two of its three objectives for 2013, with the completion of the Baomahun Feasibility Study and updated Mineral Resource at Yaoure, and we are well on track to successfully integrate Kalsaka and Sega in Q3."The Baomahun study confirmed the project has a net present value of $127m at a gold price of $1,350 and a discount rate of 8%. Spivey added that Amara was making good progress towards its two further targets for the second half, completing the optimisation work for a smaller pit and plant at Baomahun and delivering the Preliminary Economic Assessments for Yaoure, its 90%-owned project in Côte d'Ivoire.Shares in Amara were down 5.1% at 18.5p at 14:35 on Tuesday.OH