Q4 2022 and full year 2022
Production - see table 1.
Q4 2022 gold production as concentrate and dore totalled 1,805 ounces an additional 324 ounces were mined in December but had to be stored underground as weather conditions didn't allow for the mining trucks to move the ore to the ROM pad safely.
Reduced guidance for Q4 2022 announced on
Moving ore from the mine to the process plant during December was also restricted due to harsher than expected weather conditions in December, however this ore was processed in the first week of
Year to
Sales - see table 1.
Q4 2022 gold concentrate shipments totalled 236 tonnes with a sales value of
Year to
Scottish gold dore sales made to Scottish jewellery companies during Q4 2022 totalled
Mining and Processing
8,523 tonnes of ore was mined from the underground mine and transferred to the ROM pad during Q4 2022 and 26,102 tonnes of ore in 2022.
Grade mill feed for processing plant averaged 8.96g/t of gold for Q4 2022 and 10.35g/t in 2022.
Processing plant gold recovery levels were above 92% for Q4 2022 and 93% in 2022.
Mining development
Mining development over 2022 has continually increased as a result of improved availability of the mine fleet and capital works invested in 2022, including underground power and ventilation upgrades, resource definition and grade control drilling et al. See fig 1.
Underground power and ventilation upgrade allowed further access to the mine ramps and tunnels at higher productive rates.
Resource definition and grade control drilling in western area of mine in Q4 2022 was undertaken and will further enable our understanding of the gold vein variability and structure once logged and modelled allowing higher certainty in grade prediction for 2023 mining.
The capital received from Fern Wealth in 2022 along with the new mine design completed in 2022 allowed three development headings of mining, allowing the Company to drive to the first stope mining area planned for Q2 2023, as well as inclining to the 445 level to open even further development headings.
Majority of capital project works were completed over Q3/Q4 2022 and focussed on increasing the mine production rate. The capital works program in combination with the changes to the mine design and development plan are expected to underpin increased development productivity and ore extraction. However, until long hole stoping forecast to commence in Q2 2023 commences mine production will be the limiting factor for gold production.
Change to the short-term mine schedule in
Processing Plant Optimisation
Successful optimisation initiatives in 2022 have allowed increased throughput of ore in the processing plant to increase gold recoveries.
Tailings thickener project is ready and will allow higher quality of tailings as well as further increased throughput of ore in the process plant once long hole stoping commences.
Working capital
As a result of impacted Q4 2022 gold production and sales the Company's financial and working capital position has been adversely affected - the Company is working on additional funding to support delivery of 2023 mine plan.
The Company's current cash balance is c.
2023
Outlook/Guidance
2023 production guidance set between 11,500 and 13,500 ounces of gold.
2023 mine plan will facilitate predictability of higher gold grades and gold ounce production for the year.
Mine plan focused on achieving sustainable and continued ramp up to 2,000 ounces of gold per month.
2023 mining to date has commenced well, achieving to date 78 meters of mining development as well as c.500 ounces of gold mined, and 1,600 tonnes of ore mined and processed through the process plant.
Mine Plan
Finalised detailed mine plan for 2023 using granulised data from the grade control model and resource definition drilling information once logged and assayed undertaken in 2022.
Transitioning from tunnel development to long hole stoping.
In addition to commencing long hole stope mining in the western areas of the mine in Q2
2023, further areas of long hole stope mining will open over 2023 supporting ongoing improvements in gold production.
Long hole stoping is a widely used mining method in underground mining that supports a cost effective and efficient mass extraction of ore. Once long hole stoping is achieved, minimal dilution and increased ore recovery will be realised.
Strategy
Continue to focus on three pillars of Scotgold's strategy: optimising value at Cononish; growth through resource expansion and regional exploration; and investment in people and commitment to sustainability
Optimising value at Cononish - 2023 focused on achieving sustainable and continued ramp up to 2,000 ounces of gold per month with a target AISC of
Resource expansion firstly through increasing knowledge of the gold vein in close proximity to the existing Cononish vein by commencing a drill campaign off the back of the Very Low
Frequency (VLF) work conducted in 2022 and then to extend the same methodology to the other areas within the 2,900km-2 of area held by Scotgold.
Continue investment in people and commitment to sustainability through continuous improvement.
Vision to build an intergenerational mining company as a multi-asset gold production company in
Contact:
Chief Executive Officer
Shore Capital Nomad and Broker
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
Tel: +44 (0) 208 434 2643
Financial PR
Tel: +44 (0) 774 8843 871
(C) 2023 Electronic News Publishing, source