Karora Resources ends third quarter with C$67.3M in cash after strong gold production in Western Australia

Karora Resources Inc (TSE:KRR) (OTCMKTS:KRRGF) reported Wednesday its fifth consecutive quarter of strong gold production since the miner acquired the Higginsville operation in Western Australia in the summer of 2019. For the third quarter ended September 30, 2020, output was 24,717 ounces of the yellow metal from the Beta Hunt mine and accompanying Higginsville asset, and of those 22,912 ounces were sold. The lower figure was due to timings of delivery to the mint in Perth. READ: Karora Resources unveils gold, nickel discoveries at Beta Hunt mining complex Notably, the group added C$17 million to its cash balance during the quarter, bringing the total to C$67.3 million in the end of September, 34% higher than in June this year. "I am extremely pleased with our solid progress during the third quarter both operationally and on the corporate level. Our operations continued the now well-established trend of consistent and reliable gold production against the backdrop of the challenges we have all faced associated with the prudent precautions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic," CEO and chairman Paul Andre Huet told investors. "This is now our fifth straight quarter of strong gold production results since acquiring Higginsville in June of 2019. These results are a testament to the dedication and talent of our operations team." Huet also highlighted important milestones, which were completed during the quarter, such as the 4.5:1 share consolidation, closing the Maverix Metals transaction to reduce the Beta Hunt gold royalty by 37% and the acquisition of the Spargos Reward high-grade gold project. The firm also unveiled in the period new gold and nickel discoveries at Beta Hunt and, on the back of ongoing drilling success, that it had increased its 2020 exploration budget across the Western Australia operations by 50% to A$15 million. The company boss said he was "confident" the target of reducing all-in-sustaining-cost (AISC) cost to US$1,000 per ounce by the end of 2020 would also be achieved. "Overall, I could not be happier with both the corporate transformation and operational turnaround we have executed this year. Heading into the final quarter with an aggressive drilling program backed by strong free cash flow generating assets has us excited to deliver on our remaining internal targets," said Huet. Shares in Toronto nudged up 2.14% to C$3.82 each. Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com