UNDERGROUND

Warrawoona keeps giving up gold

Calidus plans to increase milling 10% above nameplate capacity over the rest of the March quarter

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Monthly gold production at the mine in Western Australia's east Pilbara has been steadily increasing over the past four months.

During January Calidus operated the mill at a rate equivalent to a throughput of 2.4 million tonnes per annum, with annualised run rates of 2.5Mtpa and 2.6Mtpa achieved in the past two weeks of the month.

That represented a 4% increase and 8% increase respectively, in mill throughput to nameplate.

Calidus plans to increase milling 10% above nameplate capacity over the rest of the March quarter.

An increase in mining movement to 484,000 bank cubic metres also represented a 31% improvement in mining productivity to December.

Calidus managing director Dave Reeves said it was pleasing to see nameplate mill capacity exceeded in the second half of January at Warrawoona.

"We look forward to steadily increasing monthly gold production through increased milling rates and a higher head grade as mining rates improve, [to] allow a higher proportion of run-of-mine grade ore and less lower grade material to be processed," he said.

"We anticipate a marked improvement to forecast costs as operational improvements in the mill and mine are bedded down."

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