By: Creamer media

It adds that it is well placed to deliver the significant increase in performance that is required in the next quarter – the final quarter of its 2025 financial year – to achieve copper equivalent production guidance of 154 000 t for the full year.

Meanwhile, unexpected euro:dollar exchange rate-driven cost inflation has necessitated a minor 2% or $8-million increase in MATSA’s underlying operating cost guidance to $355-million for the full year, which is equivalent to $78/t of ore processed once a 2% reduction in the forecast processing rate is also taken into account.

Moreover, group capital expenditure guidance has been reduced by $11-million to $207-million largely as a result of timing differences at Motheo.

Sandfire achieved annualised mining and processing rates of 4.6-million tonnes and 4.4-million tonnes, respectively, at MATSA in the period; and copper equivalent production of 225 000 t [CD1] as the wettest winter on record at the mine progressively impacted on productivity and the extraction of higher-grade ore was temporarily delayed, the company points out.

The company delivered copper equivalent production of 13 400 t at Motheo during the period despite the impact of an extreme weather event that resulted in its openpits being inundated with water, and activity being constrained to Stage 2 of the T3 openpit and its broader recovery efforts, which are expected to provide access to higher-grade ore in both its T3 and A4 openpits in the next quarter.

Sandfire invested $5-million in regional exploration programmes and another $5-million in resource extension exploration programmes in the period, primarily within the Motheo and MATSA mining hubs, and expects a further step-up in drilling activity in the next quarter.

Sandfire established its new unsecured $650-million Corporate Revolver Facility (CRF), which facilitated the $440-million repayment and subsequent closure of the pre-existing MATSA, Motheo and corporate revolver facilities as the company significantly simplified its funding arrangements and enhanced balance sheet flexibility.

The company generated unaudited group sales revenue of $283-million and underlying operational earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of $145-million, for underlying Ebitda of $126-million and a further $45-million reduction in net debt to $243-million, taking the cumulative reduction in net debt across the 12 month period to $238-million.

CEO and MD Brendan Harris says that, from a strategic perspective, the company’s five-year plan to materially increase reserves and increase the life of its strategically positioned processing hubs continues to gather momentum and another step-change in resource extension, near-mine and regional drilling activity is expected to occur in the June quarter.

I hope I read this figure correctly?