The Montreal-headquartered company blamed harder than usual ore at the Mana mine, in Burkina Faso, for a 4% year-on-year dip in gold output at 45,700oz for the period.
The harder ore also translated to higher mining operating costs and on a higher stripping ratio. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) rose 2.7% year-on-year to $1,103/oz of gold sold.
SEMAFO repeated its 2018 consolidated production outlook of between 235,000oz and 265,000oz gold, at AISC of $900-940/oz.
The company expects to declare commercial production at the newly commissioned Boungou mine in August, after it poured first gold on June 28. Work on the Siou underground development project continues, with the goal of hitting full production by the first quarter of 2020.
With a company valuation of about C$1.01 billion, SEMAFO's Toronto-quoted equity traded in the red on Wednesday, losing more than 8% to trade at a low of C$3.30 a share.
