The share price of gold miner Silver Lake Resources Limited. (ASX:SLR) has risen 11.39% to 44 cents in morning trade after the company released a production update for the quarter ended 31 March 2018 that exceeded the market's expectations.
Strong operational performance
The company sold 45.2koz of gold for the quarter, a 31% increase on its sales from the December quarter. The amount of gold sold for the March quarter was also 21% higher than any previous quarter from Mount Monger's Randalls Gold Procession Facility. The boost in production has also resulted in a rise in FY18 sales guidance to 145-150koz.
The main catalyst for the improved production and cash generation was the higher mined grades from the underground and open pit ore sources at the company's Mount Monger project. Silver Lake mined a record amount of 49koz with 309kt mined at 4.95g/t for the quarter. The company finished the March quarter with a cash and bullion balance of $87 million with no debt, and currently has a market capitalization of approximately $221 million.
