- Shares in gold miner Resolute Mining (RSG) have dipped today following some soft numbers in the company’s latest quarterly report
- The figures come from the company’s two flagship West African projects — the Mako Gold Mine in Senegal and the Syama Gold Mine in Mali
- While production figures from Mako were only marginally lower than last quarter, Syama’s production took a blow from the country’s recent political unrest
- In August, the Mali government was overthrown in a military coup after months of protests against then-president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
- Resolute said an interim government has now been established, but the company’s production from the Syama mine was weak over the quarter
- Resolute shares are down just over eight per cent and worth 86 cents each this afternoon
Shares in Resolute Mining (RSG) have dipped today following some lower production figures and higher costs in the company’s latest quarterly report.
The figures come from the company’s two flagship West African projects: the Mako Gold Mine in Senegal and the Syama Gold Mine in Mali.
All up, Resolute mined 1.17 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 2.32 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold from both projects. This is 24 per cent lower than the 1.55 million tonnes of ore mined over the June quarter, which also came in at a slightly higher grade of 2.44 g/t of gold.
This September 2020 quarter production figure is also roughly 7 per cent soft on the 1.26 million tonnes of ore mined over the same period last year.
In terms of gold sales, Resolute sold 18 per cent less gold over the September quarter compared to the June quarter, with September’s figure coming in at 90,900 ounces of gold sold and June’s at 110,660 ounces sold.
However, the average realised price of the metal was slightly up at US$1694 (around A$2384) per ounce in the September quarter compared to US$1446 (around A$2034) per ounce in June.
Nevertheless, all-in sustaining costs for the September quarter were US$1284 (around A$1807) per ounce compared to the US1033 (around A$1454) per ounce the quarter before.
Resolute said the Mako mine in Senegal continued to perform consistently, meaning most of the soft figures come from Syama in Mali — which is no surprise given the political unrest in the country over the past few months
The Mali coup
Years of instability erupted into protests across Mali in June this year calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, which reached their peak on August 18.
On this date, the Mali military staged a mass mutiny a began to fire shots into the air at a military base near Mali’s capital, Bamako. The military then stormed into the capital and seized and arrested several government officials, including President Keita.
Around midnight, President Keita announced his resignation and declared the dissolution of the Mali government and the National Assembly.
While the news was met with cheers from anti-government protestors, now came the job of rebuilding the country’s government system.
Resolute in the midst
Resolute said an interim government has now been established following the August coup, and the new government has the support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), meaning previous sanctions imposed on Mali have all been lifted.
This means supply links to Mali have reopened and the transportation of key consumables to Syama has been re-established.
Of course, the company mined far less ore than normal over the tense quarter, with around 507,000 tonnes mined from which 47,00 ounces of gold were produced. For reference, the company mined 864,000 tonnes of ore and produced 64,000 ounces of gold over the June quarter.
Senegal relief
While Mali operations were impacted by the coup, Senegal mining and production tracked along steadily.
The company mined slightly less ore and poured slightly less gold from Mako compared to the previous quarter, but the difference was marginal.
Over the September quarter, Resolute mined around 663,000 tonnes of ore and poured around 41,000 ounces of gold. In the June quarter, the company mined 685,000 tonnes of ore and poured 43,500 ounces of gold.
Nevertheless, the soft quarterly numbers seem to have disappointed investors, with Resolute shares down 8.02 per cent this afternoon. At 12:45 pm AEDT, RSG shares are worth 86 cents each.