An exceptionally strong quarter of gold production has seen Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) go well beyond its expectations, both in terms of the amount of the metal produced and financial benefits yielded.
Ramelius produced a total of 86,928 ounces in the March 2024 quarter, going well beyond its guidance target of between 70,000 – 77,500 ounces for the period, with the yield coming from Mt Magnet gold mine – which produced 45,927 ounces of gold – and Edna May, which produced 41,001 ounces.
Both mines are located along Western Australia’s Yilgarn Craton, with Ramelius acquiring Mt Magnet from Harmony Gold in 2010 and Edna May from Evolution Mining in 2017.
In terms of the company’s balance sheet, it reported lower costs than expected – partly as a result of boosted cash flow, with $407.1 million in net cash and gold added to the record free cash flow of $125.3 million for the quarter.
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) for the second half of the financial year are set to be between A$1,375 and1,475 per ounce, lower than the guidance target of between A$1,700 and1,800 per ounce.
It has been some time since Ramelius hit similar records in terms of both production and financials: achieving a record group gold production of 86,516 ounces in the June quarter of 2020 and having a free cash flow of $69.4 million in the same period.
Ramelius is trading at $1.81c.