Petropavlovsk posts 39% drop in H1 output

Gold miner Petropavlovsk reported a 39% drop in first-half output on Wednesday but stated a higher gold price had partially offset the impact.

Petropavlovsk said production for the six months ended 30 June fell to 195,000 ounces, partly due to moving the processing of ore from its Elginskoye deposit at Albyn and preparations for the launch of its Pioneer flotation plant.

Taking off some of the pressure, the FTSE 250-listed company's average realised gold price for the first half of 2021 increased 9% year-on-year to $1,795 an ounce.

Despite the fall in production, which forced it to shift to mining refractory ore for stockpiling ahead of a planned temporary shutdown of its processing plant, Petropavlovsk stood by its previous annual guidance of 430,000 to 470,000 ounces.

Chief executive Denis Alexandrov said: "The first half of 2021 was a transitional period for Petropavlovsk as we prepared to launch the Pioneer flotation plant, which heralds the mine's shift from processing non-refractory ore to being a producer of refractory concentrate to feed our Pokrovskiy POX hub.

"I am proud to highlight that we launched the plant one month ahead of our revised schedule. With the Pioneer flotation plant and increased deliveries of 3rd-party concentrate in the second half, we are confident of meeting our full-year production guidance for 2021."

As of 1015 BST, Petropavlovsk shares were up 0.67% at 21.38p.