Lihir breaks a million despite Ballarat woes

摘要

Despite having to book a 400 million dollars loss on its failed Ballarat project, and showing the exit door to its chief executive as a result, Lihir Gold Ltd retains a positive outlook for the year ahead. Lihir broke the 1 moz production barrier for the first time in 2009, with the total production of 1.12 moz exceeding the previous year by 27%. This was thanks largely to the continuing performance of its operation on Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea but also reflected the first full year contribution from the African and Australian assets the company picked up in the Equigold NL acquisition in 2008. In the company's annual report, Lihir chairman Ross Garnaut said as an unhedged producer, Lihir would continue to benefit from continued strong investment demand for gold.