Gold miner in a whirl of its own

Gold miner in a whirl of its ownJarrod LucasKalgoorlie MinerTue, 15 October 2013 12:41PMShare to FacebookShare to XEmail UsCopy the Link Shares in Saracen Mineral Holdings were up 2.3 per

cent yesterday as the gold miner continues to develop its Whirling Dervish open pit.

On the back of record production of 41,241 ounces at its Carosue Dam plant, 120km north-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Saracen shares climbed to 22 cents yesterday after the company revealed it

is in a net positive cash position of $5.6 million.

With debt of $22m, Saracen closed the September quarter with $24.9m in cash, which included $2.7m of gold in transit. Saracen managing director Raleigh Finlayson, who announced the quarterly

results to the Australian Securities Exchange, confirmed the company is ramping up Whirling Dervish which had advanced 60m below surface at the end of the September quarter.

A total of 250,000 tonnes at 1.1g/t is expected to be mined at Whirling Dervish over the next three months for 8000oz. Saracen spent $13m on the Whirling Dervish pre-strip last quarter, with

the bulk of mill feed for the remainder of the financial year to come from the Red October underground mine.

There will be 75,000 tonnes at 5.7g/t mined at Red October in the December quarter for up to 13,000oz.

“Recording our fourth consecutive production record, which has resulted in our Carosue Dam operations producing 146,962 ounces over the past 12 months, is an outstanding accomplishment,” Mr

Finlayson said.

“However, the most pleasing outcome for the quarter is the significant cash build of over $15m, achieved despite continued volatility in the Australian dollar gold price, and the ongoing

investment in the development of our Whirling Dervish open pit.”

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