By David Winning
SYDNEY--Northern Star Resources cut a forecast for annual gold production after encountering setbacks that included a primary crusher failure at the plant processing ore from its biggest mine site in Western Australia.
Northern Star said it now expects to produce between 1.6 million and 1.7 million troy ounces of gold in the 12 months through June. That is down from earlier guidance of 1.70 million-1.85 million oz, and reflects a revised second-half gold sales target of 871,000-971,000 oz.
Australia's second-largest listed gold miner, after U.S.-based Newmont, warned that it will need to revise expectations for costs. It said new annual cost guidance would be provided to investors alongside its second-quarter result on Jan. 22.
Northern Star said it sold 348,000 oz of gold in the three months through December, bringing sales for its fiscal first half to 729,000 oz. It described the performance as soft, with sales hurt by several isolated setbacks late in the period.
"In addition to the previously disclosed events at Jundee and South Kalgoorlie, which collectively impacted production by up to 20,000 oz, the quarter was further affected by several unplanned maintenance and operational challenges," Northern Star said.
Northern Star's struggles mean it hasn't been able to fully benefit from a sustained rally in prices of the precious metal. In 2025, gold traded on Comex achieved the largest one-year net gain in prices on record. It set a record-high price of US$4,529.10 on Dec. 26, and ended the year 4.5% below that level.
Northern Star said quarterly sales at its Kalgoorlie production hub in Western Australia were held back by reduced throughput in the KCGM processing plant due to the primary crusher failure.
"While the processing plant will return to normal operations in early January, throughput is expected to remain variable during the second half as the company transitions from the existing plant to the new expanded mill, which is on track for commissioning in early FY 2027," Northern Star said.
Second-quarter gold sales at its Kalgoorlie production hub totaled 203,000 oz. Northern Star said quarterly sales at its Yandal mining center in Western Australia and at Pogo in the U.S. state of Alaska were 91,000 oz and 53,000 oz, respectively.
"At Jundee, recovery works have taken longer than planned (up to 20,000 oz impact) with a return to normal operations now expected during the March quarter following the previously flagged localized structural failure in the crushing circuit in early October," Northern Star said about one of the major mines at its Yandal hub.
Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 01, 2026 17:58 ET (22:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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