Evolution Mining Limited’s Ernest Henry operation in Queensland has safely resumed mining activities and will continue to safely ramp up activities to reach normal production levels by the end of the June quarter 2023.
The weather impact at Ernest Henry will result in lower gold and copper production of approximately 17,000 ounces and 10,000 tonnes respectively in FY2023 whilst gold and copper production in the March quarter was reduced by ~6,400 ounces and ~4,100 tonnes respectively.
The operation was impacted by a regional weather event on 8 March. As a consequence, all personnel were safely removed from the mine due to water entering mine workings and the operation’s production activities were suspended.
Re-entry of the mine was undertaken when it was safe to do so after the cessation of the rainfall event. During the weekend that followed, the Ernest Henry team was able to assess the impact of the event on the mine and commence development of a recovery plan.
Evolution’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Lawrie Conway said whilst the significant weather event that occurred at Ernest Henry suspended operations, the priority was to ensure all personnel were safe, including during the recovery phase.
“The team on site has handled the situation in accordance with our incident management protocols. We expect the recovery phase to take approximately 6 weeks before ramping up to normal production.”
Mr Conway said the business performance in the March quarter had been solid with the company’s cash position better than planned.
“This provides adequate coverage to handle the impact of this incident at Ernest Henry.”
The Group cash balance at the end of March 2023 was approximately $164 million, after payment of the $200 million deferred settlement amount to Glencore and the $45 million debt repayment in the March quarter.
Mr Conway said the closing cash balance demonstrates the strength of the balance sheet and the transition of the business to net cash generation with around $96 million generated in the March Quarter.
“Additionally, this has been achieved at a gold price materially lower than the current spot gold price.”
