K92 Mining Announces Q1 Production Results, Achieving Record Development and Monthly & Daily Mill Tonnes Processed
April 6, 2023
Quarterly ore processed of 117,903 tonnes or 1,310 tpd (“tonnes per day”), our third highest on record, even after encountering 8 days of unplanned process plant downtime as previously reported.
Record monthly mill average daily throughput achieved in March of 1,490 tpd, 9% above the Stage 2A Expansion run-rate of 1,370 tpd, plus multiple new daily records set during the quarter, with the highest mill tonnes processed to date being 1,815 tonnes on March 11. Importantly, these records have been achieved prior to commissioning of the final major Stage 2A Expansion plant upgrade, the flotation expansion, planned for commissioning in Q2 2023.
Head grade during the quarter of 5.21 g/t gold, 0.70% copper and 10.14 g/t silver (6.35 g/t gold equivalent (“AuEq”)) with metallurgical recoveries for gold of 89.1% and copper of 91.3%. As previously reported, head grade was notably impacted by underground mining encountering an area with more challenging ground conditions than expected, impacting production stoping rates and access to higher grade material. Generally, mill feed would be supplemented by mining from additional mining fronts in these situations; however, due to development rates being below budget for several quarters during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the alternative mining areas were not yet developed, therefore supplementing from the low grade stockpile was required. We expect a moderate impact from this in Q2, with the second half of 2023 being our strongest for production driven by a significant increase in our operational flexibility and stope sequencing, and 2023 production in the bottom half of the guidance range.
Quarterly production of 21,488 oz AuEq (1) or 17,593 oz gold, 1,651,297 lbs copper and 29,859 oz silver and quarterly sales of 17,602 oz gold, 1,538,590 lbs copper and 29,164 oz silver.
Record overall mine development of 2,278 m, an increase of 48% from Q1 2022, and significant advancement of the twin incline in Q1, with incline #2 (6m x 6.5m) advanced to 2,172 metres and #3 (5m x 5.5m) advanced to 2,230 metres as of March 31, 2023. Twin incline advance in Q1 was 22% ahead of budget.
Note (1): Gold equivalent for Q1 2023 is calculated based on: gold $1,890 per ounce; silver $22.55 per ounce; and copper $4.05 per pound.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc . (“ K92 ” or the “ Company ”) (TSX : KNT; OTCQX : KNTNF ) announces production results for the first quarter (“ Q1 ”) of 2023 at its Kainantu Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea, of 21,488 oz AuEq or 17,593 oz gold, 1,651,297 lbs copper and 29,859 oz silver. Sales during the first quarter were 17,602 oz gold, 1,538,590 lbs copper and 29,164 oz silver.
During the first quarter, the process plant delivered a strong quarterly ore processing rate of 117,903 tonnes or 1,310 tpd, our third highest quarter on record despite experiencing 8 days of combined unplanned maintenance. The unplanned plant maintenance occurred in February due to a mill trunnion bearing failure (2 days downtime) and a limited electrical fire in a cable tray, which damaged a number of cables feeding the wet section of the process plant (6 days downtime) (see February 27, 2023 press release).
After completion of the unplanned maintenance in February, the process plant performed very strongly, setting a new monthly ore processed record of 1,490 tpd in March which is 9% greater than the Stage 2A Expansion design throughput of 1,370 tpd. Additionally, multiple new daily throughput records were achieved during the quarter including 1,726 tonnes processed on February 26, 1,773 tonnes processed on February 28, 1,802 tonnes processed on March 3 and 1,815 tonnes processed on March 11. Importantly these records were achieved prior to the final major upgrade to the Stage 2A Expansion process plant, the flotation expansion to double rougher capacity, which is planned for commissioning in Q2 and is expected to provide a boost to metallurgical recoveries and flexibility to potentially increase throughput further.
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