Saracen’s golden reserves to propel production

The company reported record reserves of 3.7 million ounces after declaring a 396,000 ounce depletion.

This can support seven years of expanded production rate, with about 250,00 ounces coming from the Carosue Dam mine and around 200,000 ounces a year from the Thunderbox mine.

As a result, Saracen declared a production guidance of 380,000 to 400,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1200 to $1300 at the Western Australian mines for the 2021 financial year.

The company stated that the reserves increase was a four-fold rise since 2013 and almost doubled over the past three years.

Saracen managing director Raleigh Finlayson said the updated inventory and outlook further strengthened the company’s position as a substantial long-life gold producer.

“These record reserves and growth outlook highlight Saracen’s key strengths on several fronts,” he said.

“To grow reserves by 400,000 ounces in a year despite depletion is a strong result. These ounces are made much more valuable by the fact that they are all in Western Australia and within very close proximity to existing processing facilities.

“These robust reserves ensure we have long-term, sustainable production in what is almost certainly the best place in the world to be a gold miner.”

Saracen also plans to invest in further growth by allocating $43 million for exploration this financial year.

“We have a pipeline of strong organic growth opportunities which can drive further increases in mine life and production,” Finlayson concluded.