Centamin not slowed much by strike action

published 12 April 2012

Strike activity in the first quarter did not stop Egyptian gold miner Centamin from posting an increase in production compared to a year earlier.

Total gold production for the quarter was 49,071 ounces, a 9% increase on the corresponding quarter in 2011. Despite industrial action hitting production, gold output was only marginally below budget, the company revealed.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, tonnes mined from the open pit and treated by the process plant were both lower than in the fourth quarter of 2011, but the resultant gold production was underpinned by the plant achieving record productivity. Quarterly throughput in the Sukari process plant was 1.02m tonnes, 38% higher than the corresponding quarter in 2011 and just 4% lower than the fourth quarter of 2011, which was a record quarter.