GOLDEN Star confirmed it had made arrangements to continue refining its gold at South Africa’s Rand Refinery whilst securing alternative arrangements for the freight of doré to the country amid a partial port lockdown.
“The refinery has obtained consent from the Government of South Africa to continue operations during the national three-week shutdown in South Africa,” the company said. “We retain these arrangements under review and have assessed alternative options should the situation in South Africa change.”
The company was commenting shortly after Ghana’s president Akufo-Addo announced restrictions on the movement of vehicles and aircraft in and from the country in mitigation of the COVID-19 virus. He, however, exempted mines from the restrictions.
As a result Golden Star’s production guidance of between 190,000 to 210,000 ounces was unchanged for its 2020 financial year.
The company had also worked to improve its procurement of supplies which had been largely uninterrupted by the impact of the virus so far.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we continue to manage the supply chain risk closely and remain in regular contact with our key suppliers,” the company said.
“Notwithstanding the different obstacles currently facing the business, both our operations continue to function with minimal impact at this point in time. Furthermore, we have carried out detailed business continuity planning based on a range of scenarios which could materialise as the situation evolves,” it said.
