(Alliance News) - Resolute Mining Ltd confirmed on Wednesday annual production has missed guidance after problems at the Syama gold mine in Mali.
For the three months to December, the Australian miner reported production of 105,293 ounces of gold, up 2.0% on the prior quarter.
However, annual production was 384,731 ounces, which is well short of previous guidance given by Resolute of 400,000 ounces.
The miss was due to unscheduled production halts at the Syama mine. A roaster was taken offline in October due to a crack in the main external shell, with repair work completed in December.
The company has previously said any production volumes lost in 2019 will be recovered in 2020.
"The unscheduled material loss of production from the Syama sulphide circuit was balanced by the outperformance of the Syama oxide circuit, and strong performance from Resolute's Mako gold mine in Senegal and the Ravenswood gold mine in Queensland," said Resolute.
Syama makes up well over half of Resolute's production, with Mako delivering 87,187 ounces of gold in 2019 and Ravenswood some 54,486 ounces.
Managing Director & Chief Executive John Welborn said: "Syama sulphide production fell well short of our expectations in both the September and December quarters. Our operating and project teams have worked hard to offset lost production with strong performance from our other operating assets.
"The repairs to the Syama roaster are now complete and the sulphide circuit is ready for a strong performance in 2020. In addition to managing the challenge of the Syama roaster repairs, we have made significant progress in delivering on our strategy during 2019."
"We have now fully commissioned the Syama underground mine, refurbished the Syama sulphide circuit, acquired the Mako gold mine on highly value accretive terms, generated excellent exploration success at Tabakoroni, completed stage one of the Ravenswood expansion project, and significantly progressed the strategic review of Bibiani. With a pipeline of growth opportunities and Syama positioned to deliver on its potential, I am highly optimistic for 2020," Welborn continued.
The entire Ravenswood expansion will see Resolute target production of 200,000 ounces a year for 15 years from 2022. Production after the first phase of expansion will be 80,000 ounces. The Bibiani review was announced in December.
Shares were 1.6% higher on Wednesday morning in London at a price of 66.60 pence each.
By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com
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Resolute Mining (RSG)