K92 Mining Produces 18,654 Gold Equivalent Ounces In Q1 2021

K92 Mining (TSX: KNT) released production results for its flagship Kainantu Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea. The company managed to produce 18,654 gold equivalent ounces during the three month period.

Production during the quarter saw a total of 17,774 ounces of gold, 426,153 pounds of copper and 7,925 ounces of silver produced from the mine. This compares to 29,820 ounces of gold equivalent that was produced in the prior quarter, at much higher grades.

On a quarter over quarter basis, the company saw its tonnes processed climb from 68,932 to that of 73,221 tonnes. However, feed grade gold fell dramatically, from 14.2 g/t to 8.5 g/t, while copper grade fell from 0.36% to 0.31%, effectively acting as double whammy for the company. The lower grade was a result of lower grade stockpiles being used due to a shortage of bulk emulsion explosives as a result of the pandemic. Production was further impacted by an incident with an underground loader, which restricted access to four high grade stopes for three weeks.

As if this operation hadn’t been hit with enough operational challenges, the company on March 17 then saw Australia restrict travel to Papua New Guinea due to rising COVID-19 cases, restricting access to the firms workforce. While restrictions are expected to be lifted by the end of the month, its not said to have impacted production guidance for 2021.

Finally, the company revealed it currently has a cash balance of US$66.0 million following an increase during the quarter of $15.0 million while also paying an outstanding loan to the tune of US$5.0 million.

Revenues numbers were not provided for the quarter.

K92 Mining last traded at $7.75 on the TSX.

Information for this briefing was found via Sedar and K92 Mining. The author has no securities or affiliations related to these organizations. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.