Production results for the second quarter ending 30 June 2012 include 27,863 ounces from the Nzema mine in Ghana and 22,865 ounces from the Youga mine in Burkina Faso for total production of 50,728 ounces.
Nzema cash costs were in the range of $620-640 per ounce and Youga’s cash costs at $590-610 per ounce, at the lower end of guidance, due in part to successful cost containment initiatives, the company noted.
Endeavour Mining CEO Neil Woodyer said the company’s strong performance to date has allowed it to increase the production guidance for the year by about 8%.
"Given our focus on growth, the most important result of expanding production is increasing cash flow, which funds exploration, potential acquisitions and development, including construction of our third mine, now underway," Neil added.
At Nzema gold mine in Ghana, certain positions were restructured which led to reduction in the number of employees while efforts are underway to optimize throughput to reduce unit costs.
Both Youga and Nzema have reduced inventory levels as well as supply costs through bulk buying and improved sourcing, with annual production at about 180,000 ounces.
Edeavour has also commenced the construction on its third gold mine, the Agbaou project in Côte d’Ivoire, estimated to produce an additional 100,000 ounces per year during in the first quarter of 2014.
