Eldorado Conquers 2018 Guidance as Lamaque Flourishes in Q4

Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD,NYSE:EGO) had an impressive 2018 as it surpassed its production guidance for the year thanks largely in part to Q4 output from the Lamaque mine, which is in the pre-commercial production stages, the company announced on Monday (January 21).

The target was set at between 290,000 ounces and 330,00 ounces, but the miner produced 349,147 ounces of gold for the year, up from the 292,971 ounces produced in 2017.

“In 2018, Eldorado successfully met its overall production goals, which included two upward revisions to production guidance. These positive results reflect solid execution by the team and better-than-expected leach pad production at Kisladag,” said George Burns, president and CEO.

“In addition, underground mine development and refurbishment of the Sigma Mill at Lamaque proceeded according to plan,” he added.

Pre-commercial production from the company’s Lamaque operation, near Val-d’Or, Quebec, supported Eldorado in the last quarter by producing 75,877 ounces of gold.

Burns also noted that commercial production at Lamaque is on track to begin in the first quarter of this year.

Additionally, the miner revealed that its Olympias team made progress in addressing challenges relating to the blending of the ore feed to the mill and startup of the newly installed paste plant.

“Ore feed blending impacted metallurgical performance and contributed to lower second half production and higher costs. With better control of the blend anticipated, we expect 2019 to be a better year for both mining and processing at Olympias,” Burns stated.

On the financial side, Eldorado reported that its full year cash operating costs are expected to be US$621 per ounce of gold sold, which is up from US$509 per ounce sold in 2017 and in-line with revised guidance of US$600-US$650 per ounce sold.

All in sustaining costs are expected to come in at US$990 per ounce sold for the full year, up from the US$922 per ounce sold in the previous year.

Finally, the miner noted that it continued to have solid financial liquidity for the year. Eldorado ended 2018 with total liquidity of approximately US$543 million, including US$293 million in cash, cash equivalents and term deposits, and US$250 million in undrawn line of credit.

As of 11:08 a.m. EST on Tuesday (January 22), Eldorado was down 0.58 percent, trading at C$3.44.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.