Caracal Gold PLC on Friday said production in the second quarter was significantly better than in the preceding months, and said activities at its Kenyan mine showed ‘steady’ progress.

The East Africa-focused gold producer said that at the Kilimapesa project, its gold mine west of Nairobi, Kenya, it mined 53,630 tonnes of gold during the second quarter of 2023, up from 12,045 tonnes during the first quarter. Treated tonnes increased to 50,720 from 19,104, and smelted ounces increased to 1,645 from 627.

Caracal had said in May that expansion and operational activities were limited during about half of the first quarter due to a delay in funding.

Caracal sold 1,645 ounces of gold during the second quarter, with an average price of $1,933 per ounce.

Caracal said improvements made during the period included installing a standby power generator set in April, improving plant availability. The milling plant’s availability was negatively impacted in June by a breakdown and worn mill liners, but repair works were completed in July.

‘After a difficult first quarter it has been great to see Kilimapesa run in a steady state over the second quarter. The production numbers confirm that the operation is running well,’ commented Chief Executive Officer Robbie McCrae.

Also during the second quarter, Caracal said it continued to progress its financing transaction to fund the Kilimapesa project’s expansion. It said in mid-July that it had completed a £351,000 share subscription and would use the proceeds to fund transactional costs for the expansion.

McCrae said: ‘Activities to secure the Kilimapesa expansion funding have progressed well and the transaction is into the final documentation phase which when complete means we will announce financing deal and move to drawdown of the funds.’

Shares in Caracal were down 4.0% at 0.31 pence on Friday afternoon in London.

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