Griffin Mining confident despite Q1 dip in production

(Sharecast News) - Griffin Mining reported a sharp year-on-year decline in production at its Caijiaying Zinc-Gold Mine in the first quarter of 2025 on Thursday, as the lingering impact of a fatal accident and seasonal disruptions weighed on output. The AIM-traded company did, however, indicate a return to normalised operations from March, adding that it expected to achieve its full-year mining and processing targets.

For the three months ended 31 March, ore mined fell to 223,745 tonnes from 335,234 tonnes a year earlier, while ore processed declined to 241,344 tonnes from 327,529 tonnes.

Zinc in concentrate output dropped to 6,552 tonnes, down 43% year-on-year, with gold production more than halving to 2,433 ounces.

Silver and lead production also fell, down 39% and 9% respectively.

The weaker performance followed a suspension of operations in the fourth quarter of 2024 due to a contractor fatality, which halted underground access and limited ore availability in early 2025.

Production was further impacted by administrative delays and reduced staffing during the Chinese Lunar New Year and Spring Festival period.

Despite the slow start to the year, the company reported improved mining and processing activity from early March, adding that it now expected to reach an annualised ore throughput rate of 1.5 million tonnes for the rest of 2025.

Meanwhile, average realised prices were significantly higher year-on-year, with zinc up 9% to $2,278 per tonne, gold up 35% to $2,740 per ounce, and silver up 34% to $26.90 per ounce.

"The death of one of our mining contractor's employees was not only a tragic human event, but also a significant negative impact to our operations in late 2024 and into early 2025," said chairman Mladen Ninkov.

"We hope this is the last of the 'black swan' events for the foreseeable future and that the company can resume normal operations at its normalised throughput and production results.

"I still believe 2025 will be a watershed year for both the company and the shareholders. We await what the year will bring."

At 1432 BST, shares in Griffin Mining were flat at 175p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.