Centamin enjoys strong end to the year

FTSE 250 gold miner Centamin produced 10% more gold in the fourth quarter from its flagship Sukari project in Egypt.

Gold production totalled 58,965 ounces, above the 53,189 ounces produced in the same period of 2010 and 16% higher than the 50,539 ounces produced in the third quarter of 2011.

Centamin said the result was helped by the record quarterly throughput in the Sukari process plant of 1,066kt, a 38% improvement year-on-year.

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As a result of the strong performance, total gold production in 2011 increased by 35% to 202,698 ounces compared with the year before.

Centamin shares rose 3.9% to 84p in early trading on Tuesday.

"The final quarter of 2011 saw Centamin deliver record performance on all operating fronts, which was a credit to our operating team who remained focussed and committed to successfully delivering on our targets during a challenging year," said Chairman Josef El-Raghy.

The Sukari project is located in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, 25km from the Red Sea coast.