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- Mount Gibson Iron’s (MGX) ore production took a hit over the March quarter amid wet weather conditions and a scheduled overburden stripping programme
- The ASX-lister mined 4.4 million wet metric tonnes of ore and waste during the March quarter at its Koolan Island flagship, making for a 19 per cent decrease from the 5.4 million wet metric tonnes in the prior quarter
- Mount Gibson attributed the fallen figures to significant wet weather over the period, which resulted in multiple stoppages
- It comes as the company executes a $130 million overburden stripping effort at the flagship project in the hopes of accessing larger volumes of higher-quality ore down the track
- Despite some operational setbacks, ore production in the March quarter totalled 260,000 wet metric tonnes compared with 184,000 wet metric tonnes achieved in the December quarter, albeit at lower grades
- Mount Gibson Iron shares are off 0.57 per cent following the announcement, trading at 86.5 cent
Mount Gibson Iron’s (MGX) ore production took a hit over the March quarter amid wet weather conditions and a scheduled overburden stripping programme.
The ASX-lister mined 4.4 million wet metric tonnes of ore and waste during the March quarter at its Koolan Island flagship, making for a 19 per cent decrease from the 5.4 million wet metric tonnes in the prior quarter.
Mount Gibson predominantly attributed to the subdued figures to heavy rainfall at the Kimberley situated project, which resulted in multiple stoppages.
The company also contended with rockfall at its main pit, which is expected to set the company back some $15 million as it takes measures to safely resume mining in the area.
Although a slightly stifled quarter, it comes as the company undertakes a scheduled overburden stripping programme at the site, with the aim of clearing sufficient waste to access larger volumes of higher-quality ore later this year and onwards.
These efforts made for an expensive period for the company, with some $35 million invested into overburden stripping for the March quarter, with the whole process set to tally up to $130 million for the financial year.
The project is set to be completed during the second half of CY21.
Despite some operational setbacks, ore production in the March quarter totalled 260,000 wet metric tonnes compared with 184,000 wet metric tonnes achieved in the December quarter, albeit at lower grades.
Mount Gibson said it maintained an average ore sold grade of 60 per cent iron over the quarter in line with guidance, which is expected to continue between 58 per cent and 61 per cent in the current half-year period.
Ore sales and unit cash costs remain on track with guidance for the 2020/21 financial year according to the company.
The company advised cash and liquid investments clocked in at $412 million at March 31 with no borrowings, and reported a net profit after tax of $74.5 million for the half-year ended December 31, 2020.
Mount Gibson Iron shares are off 0.57 per cent following the announcement, trading at 86.5 cents at 11:07 am AEST.
