Trans-Siberian Gold on track to achieve annual production guidance

The precious metals miner said third quarter gold production came in at 12,620 oz, which was 8% higher than for the same period one year before, though silver production dropped by 18% to 24,686 oz.

Total gold production over the first nine months of the year of 34,509 oz led the AIM traded company to state that it was "firmly on track" to meet the upper end of its annual output guidance of 40-44,000 oz.

Trans-Siberian attributed the decrease in silver production to its mining of a different ore body during the period, adding that the drop was not material to the group's overall financial performance.

Meanwhile, gold revenue increased by 28% to $14.0m and total turnover climbed by 23% to $14.3m.

Chief executive Alexander Dorogov said: "I am pleased to announce our production results for Q3 and 9M 2019, that are underpinned by our continued operational improvement. We are particularly delighted to note that following a substantial increase in the average gold price last quarter, we have successfully maintained the high grade of 8.3g/t during this period."

The quarter also saw 7,500m of underground drilling on the main zone of the Asacha mine at depth, while 5,000m surface drilling in the east zone was successfully completed.

The company also commenced updating its geological models and interpretation.

Those results were eagerly anticipated after the company said internal estimates indicated the published JORC compliant in-situ resource may be overestimated, meaning that the operational life of the Asacha mine beyond 2024 would need to be reviewed.

Trans-Siberian Gold shares were down 4.17% at 91.52p at 1530 BST.