Centamin Hits Annual Gold Production Targets and Sees Revenue Growth

 

Centamin had a strong showing in 2023, hitting a gold production milestone of 450,058 ounces and successfully meeting its annual targets for the third consecutive year.

Looking ahead to the current year, Centamin has set a production forecast ranging between 470,000 oz. and 500,000 oz. This optimistic outlook is fueled by ongoing improvements in output at its flagship Sukari mine in Egypt, taking advantage of a favorable gold price environment.

In the last quarter of the year, Centamin reported a production of 128,127 oz., a notable 17% increase from 109,564 oz. in the same quarter of 2022.

The company also reported a quarterly revenue of $265 million, generated from the sale of 133,465 oz. of gold at an average realized gold price of $1,983/oz. This marks a substantial 41% increase compared to the same period the previous year.

For the entire year of 2023, Centamin recorded revenue of $892 million, stemming from the sale of 456,625 oz. of gold at an average realized gold price of $1,948/oz. sold. This reflects a 13% rise from the $787 million recorded in 2022.

Centamin has invested $750 million over the past four years to enhance efficiency at Sukari, Egypt's only modern gold mine. The company's plans for the coming year include connecting to the country's electrical grid and utilizing company solar panels, a move expected to cut $41 million annually in diesel costs.

In addition to its current operations, Centamin is actively exploring a 3,000 sq. km. area in the eastern desert near the mine in the hopes of discovering new gold deposits. The company has allocated a budget for 15,000 meters of reverse circulation drilling, metallurgical testing, a conceptual resource estimate, and an optimization study to guide drilling efforts.

Initial results, posted on January 9, showed promising findings, including 46 meters grading 3.3 grams of gold per tonne from 91 meters down in drill hole LSRC030, and 77 meters at 1.84 grams from 44 meters depth in drill hole LSRC012 at the Little Sukari prospect 28 km west of the Sukari mine.

At the Umm Majal prospect 23 km west of the mine, drill hole UMRC006 cut 18 meters grading 2.33 grams from 21 meters depth, and drill hole UMRC003 returned 15 meters at 1.46 grams from 4 meters down.

Sukari, projected to last until 2035, holds 194 million proven and probable tonnes grading 1.23 grams per tonne for 7.7 million oz. of contained gold. The mine also boasts 392 million measured and indicated tonnes at 1.06 grams per tonne for 13.4 million oz. of contained gold.

Shares in Centamin rose by 4.5% in Toronto on Thursday morning, bringing the company's market capitalization to C$1.34 billion.