6
MODERN MINING
February 2014
MINING News
In its fourth quarter report for the three
months ended 31 December 2013,
LSE‑listed African Barrick Gold (ABG),
which owns the Bulyanhulu, North Mara
and Buzwagi gold mines in Tanzania,
says that it produced 165 374 ounces of
gold during the reporting period at a pre-
liminary all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of
US$1 171 per ounce sold. This AISC was
down 30 % on Q4 2012 and 8 % down on
Q3 2013. Preliminary fourth quarter cash
costs of US$774 per ounce sold were 19 %
lower than Q4 2012.
Attributable gold production for the
quarter totalled 165 374 ounces, a slight
increase on the third quarter and a 9 %
decrease on the corresponding quarter
of 2012. Lower production was primarily
a result of lower grades at Buzwagi com-
pared to Q4 2012, reduced throughput at
North Mara due to planned plant down-
time, and the cessation of operations at
the Tulawaka mine. This was partially offset
by the increased production at Bulyanhulu
driven by a 10 % increase in grade.
The imp r oved pe r f o rmance a t
Bulyanhulu was a result of largely address-
ing paste fill delivery issues by improving
paste plant availability and increasing
the number of paste fill lines, which
improved access to higher grade stopes.
While tonnes hoisted and mill throughput
remained in line with the corresponding
quarter of 2012, head grade increased by
10 % to 7,9 g/t compared to Q4 2012.
At Buzwagi, the process plant contin-
ues to operate at nameplate capacity
of 12 000 tonnes per day, but overall
throughput was impacted by predomi-
nantly planned plant downtime during
Q4 2013. As a result, throughput was 11 %
lower than in Q4 2012. Mine grade for the
quarter increased as expected, but was
10 % lower than the same quarter in 2012
due to focused mining of high grade ore
zones in Q4 2012. This also resulted in a
2 % decrease in recovery.
At North Mara, as in Q3 2013, ABG con-
tinued to see high grades from mining in
Gokona, resulting in a 13 % increase in
grade compared to Q4 2012. This was off-
set by a 13 % decrease in throughput as
ABG delivers strong quarterly figures
a result of planned crusher maintenance
downtime in December 2013 and a 3 %
decrease in recovery.
Tonnes mined for the quarter were
11,6 million compared to 13,9 million in
the corresponding quarter of 2012. The
decrease was primarily driven by the
impact of the implementation of the opti-
mised mine plans at Buzwagi and North
Mara. Tonnes processed in the fourth
quarter were 1,8 million, 12 % lower than
the corresponding quarter of 2012. The
decrease was mainly due to the plant
downtime relating to scheduled mainte-
nance at Buzwagi and North Mara.
The average grade processed for the
quarter was 3,2 g/t which was 7 % higher
than the prior year period. The increase in
grade was predominantly due to North
Mara and Bulyanhulu and was in part off-
set by lower grade at Buzwagi.
For the full year, production of 641 931
ounces represented a 3 % increase on
the prior year and 7 % higher than the
upper end of 2013 production guidance of
540 000 to 600 000 ounces. Gold sales for
the full year were 1 % above production at
649 742 ounces.
Bulyanhulu is African Barrick’s only underground mine. It produced 53 186 ounces in the fourth quarter (photo: ABG).
