Dundee shrugs off Covid strain
By Hilary Mare
DAVID Rae, president and Chief Executive Officer of Dundee Precious Metals has said their smelter in Tsumeb shrugged off Covid-19 challenges to deliver a strong operational performance for the nine months ended September 30.
Announcing the preliminary production results from both of its mines in Bulgaria and the Tsumeb smelter for the three and nine months ended September 30, Rae explained that as a result of strong operational performance, Dundee Precious Metals remains on track to meet its previously issued guidance for the year at each of its operations and is tracking to the higher end of its 2020 guidance for gold production.
“Our operations continue to perform extremely well and delivered another strong quarter of production in the third quarter,” he said adding, “Our impressive performance year-to-date reflects outstanding efforts at all of our sites to proactively manage the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The Tsumeb smelter processed 55 900 tonnes of complex concentrate smelted in the third quarter. This reflects 15 days of scheduled maintenance during the quarter, which was primarily related to the replacement of certain equipment in the off gas system.
“No additional significant maintenance is planned prior to the Ausmelt furnace reline, which is currently scheduled to occur in the first quarter of 2021. Complex concentrate smelted for the year is expected to be in-line with previously issued 2020 guidance,” added Rae.
He further went on to say that to date, Dundee Precious Metals has not experienced any material disruptions to its operations.
“The Company continues to effectively manage the Covid-19 pandemic, prioritising the health and safety of its workforce and host communities and ensuring security of its inbound and outbound supply chains,” he further stated.
Highlighting some of Dundee’s operations around the world, Rae noted that Ada Tepe continues to deliver impressive performance, producing 30 000 gold ounces in the third quarter. This production, Rae says, was higher than planned as a result of higher gold grade and higher volumes of ore treated.
Also, Chelopech continued its consistent track record in the third quarter, producing approximately 49 800 ounces of gold and 9.2 million pounds of copper.
“Gold production was as expected with higher recoveries to pyrite concentrate and copper production was in-line with plan,” Rae explained.
As previously announced in July, Dundee will pay a quarterly dividend of US$0.02 per share on October 15.
Dundee Precious Metals is a Canadian based, international gold mining company engaged in the acquisition of mineral properties, exploration, development, mining and processing of precious metals. The company’s operating assets include the Chelopech operation, which produces a gold-copper concentrate containing gold, copper and silver and a pyrite concentrate containing gold, located east of Sofia, Bulgaria; the Ada Tepe operation, which produces a gold concentrate containing gold and silver, located in southern Bulgaria; and the Tsumeb smelter, a complex copper concentrate processing facility located in Namibia.