Polymetal's gold production jumps thanks to new Kazakh mine

Polymetal International posted a second-quarter increase in gold production on Wednesday after a strong contribution from the Kyzyl mine in Kazakhstan, which started producing last year.

The precious metals miner said gold equivalent production for the three months ended 30 June came in at 384 Koz, a 19% increase on the year before, after Kyzyl delivered at full capacity, with 81k ounces of gold produced in the quarter compared to no contribution in the second quarter of 2018.

Revenue increased by 13% to $492m as a 31% increase in gold sales, driven by strong production, offset a 22% drop in silver sales due to a temporary logistical lag between production and sales to be eliminated in the second half and an 11% reduction in silver production to 6.0 Moz on the back of asset disposals.

The company said its second-quarter results leave it well positioned to meet its full-year production guidance of 1.55 Moz of gold equivalent, while costs also remain in line.

Construction activities at the Nezhda project proceeded according to plan, with construction of the mine camp and storage facilities now complete and construction of a haulage road between the mine and the concentrator having commenced in May.

Vitaly Nesis, chief executive of Polymetal, said: "Excellent results from Kyzyl drove our production growth while other operations delivered strong performances."

Polymetal International shares were down 0.12% at 990.80p at 1009 BST.