Petropavlovsk PLC (LSE:POG) reported lower gold production in the third quarter as a decline in third-party concentrates outweighed an increase in output from its own mines.
Total gold production dipped 2% from the year-earlier quarter to 111,600 ounces.
Production from third-party concentrates slumped 64% to 10,100 ounces, due to planned maintenance at the Pokrovskiy POX plant in September and expected lower volumes as processing capacity was switched to treat concentrate from the new Pioneer flotation plant.
However, output from its own mines jumped 17% year-on-year to 101,600 ounces.
“With improved performance at each of our mines during the period, particularly Malomir, and supported by the launch of the Pioneer flotation plant, the company has made progress in reversing the overall declining trend in quarterly own-mined gold production seen since Q4 2019,” said chief executive Denis Alexandrov.
“We also increased throughput at our POX Hub and the percentage of concentrate coming from our own mines, improving our margins.
“We expect these trends to continue in the fourth quarter and reiterate our production guidance for the year,” he said.
Petropavlovsk’s full-year 2021 gold production guidance is 430,000 to 470,000 ounces. In March, the company announced that its total production was expected to fall as much as a fifth this year, from 2020’s 548,100 ounces, partly due to a disruption in the signing of concentrate contracts following a change of management.
