Navoi gold output climbs 1.4% as value doubles

Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Co. said first-half gold output rose 1.4% as the world’s largest unlisted miner stepped up efforts to improve efficiency.

Gold production rose to about 1.54 million oz. in the first six months from 1.52 million oz. in the same period a year ago, Navoi said Thursday in a statement. Rising gold prices helped production values more than double over the comparable six-month period to around $4.7 billion (C$6.4 billion).

The world’s fourth-largest gold producer, a Uzbekistan state-owned enterprise, headlines its portfolio with Muruntau, the country’s largest open-pit gold deposit. The site holds 2.1 billion indicated tonnes grading 0.88 gram per tonne for 59 million oz. gold, according to a 2020 JORC resource.

Dozen mines

The company operates a dozen mines across the Navoi, Samarkand and Jizzakh regions for a total of some 140 million oz. contained metal, although the resource wasn’t tallied through JORC. 

NMMC has been implementing multiple capital projects – including a mine development at Muruntau that could boost ore deliveries from the site to one of its processing plants – to improve the efficiency at its mines. Production optimization efforts during the first half yielded cost savings of $139.6 million, the company said.

During the second quarter, Navoi completed a $500 million corporate bond placement on the London Stock Exchange to fund its operations. 

Navoi produced 3.1 million oz. of gold last year. The company has expressed interest in an initial public offering, likely in London where it’s done two bond issues. But CEO Eugene Antonov has declined to say when it might occur.