Allied Gold Corporation has officially published its preliminary operating results for the fourth quarter ending December 31st, 2024, where it achieved record production.
According to certain reports, the company would go on to produce 99,632 ounces of gold in Q4. This happens to be in line with previously issued production guidance of 98,000 to 102,000 ounces. Not just that, the stated numbers are also consistent with Allied’s previous outlook and guidance saying annual production from its producing mines is expected to be between 375,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold.
Anyway, we referred to how Allied Gold achieved record production during the quarter, but what we haven’t mentioned yet is that it achieved an estimated 16% increase over the average production of the three previous quarters during 2024.
Talk about what drove this historic performance, the answer begins from the company’s Sadiola Mine, which increased production of 54,210 ounces. This uptick was largely driven by full quarter of production from Korali oxide ore at approximately 48,000 ounces.
Having said so, Allied Gold has already indicated that Korali is an interim step pending the completion of first phase expansion at Sadiola to achieve consistent annual production of 200,000 to 230,000 ounces.
The next contributor in line would be the company’s Côte d’Ivoire (CDI) Complex, where the total production was 45,422 ounces, continuing the solid performance from third quarter. The site was able to achieve what it did, by and large, because of Agbaou’s strong production at 25,163 ounces during the quarter.
Moving on, shrinking costs also helped Allied Gold in clocking its unprecedented numbers. You see, Pro-Forma All-in Sustaining Costs (AISC) for the quarter are improved from AISC for the third quarter, settling at no more than $1,780 per gold ounce sold pro forma to gold sales from Korali produced in the fourth quarter.
The downturn in costs arrives on the scene as a complement to the company’s already strong financial position. You see, Allied Gold’s cash balances, including year-end cash and proceeds from Korali gold sales immediately following year-end, are expected to exceed $340 million.
Having said so, for accounting purposes, a working capital deficit is to be recorded as of year-end. This is due to certain payables being deferred, pending the sale of a significant inventory of Korali gold, which had accumulated by year-end and was sold subsequently.
Another strong input for Allied Gold’s record quarter is the growth observed across its ongoing projects. Basically, Kurmuk project construction, as well as the Phase 1 expansion at Sadiola, is understood to be progressing well and remain on time and on budget, while on the other hand, exploration activities continued to target mineral inventory increases across the company’s portfolio.
Beyond that, Allied is also actively engaging with SOREM to access potential mining opportunities in the vicinity of Sadiola and other highly prolific areas.
We referred to how Sedona enabled the company to achieve its goals, but what we haven’t mentioned yet is that, as of December 31, 48,000 ounces of gold produced from Korali oxide ore were in inventory at Sadiola and sold subsequent to year-end. All in all, pro-forma Sadiola sales for the quarter were in excess of 62,000 ounces.
Despite higher royalties relating to production from Korali, the company was markedly able to maximize production at overall better costs in the fourth quarter. Moving forward, thanks to the completion of site’s first phase expansion, the plant should be able to process up to 60% of higher-grade fresh ore at an increased throughput rate of 5.7Mt/y.
Expanding upon the role of Côte d’Ivoire Complex, it is evident in how, at Bonkiro, production of 20,259 ounces was in line with the plan, as higher grades were realized during the quarter due to mine’s sequencing.
At Agbaou, higher grades and tonnage were mined from WP3 and NPB pits, with oxide contributions from Chapelle and Agbali pits. This resulted in a quarterly production of 25,163 ounces, representing a 43% increase compared to the average of the previous three quarters.
