Shares in Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin (LON:CEY) were lifted as it revealed it produced 15% more gold in the third quarter from its Sukari gold mine than in the previous three months this year.
The firm mined 93,624 ounces of the yellow metal in the three months to end September - compared to 81,281 in the second quarter this year.
The expanded plant achieved nameplate capacity of 10Mtpa (million tonnes per year) during the quarter, with the potential for throughput rates to increase further during the coming quarters as the new plant is fully optimised.
Josef El-Raghy, chairman, said: "The ramp-up in productivity from the process plant continued during the quarter, and achieved the expanded 10Mtpa nameplate capacity in September with a record 882,443 tonnes milled, in line with our expectation.
"Underground mining rates remain strong and ore grades have returned to expected levels. With scope for further increases in plant throughput during the coming quarters, and with average grades set to further increase in Q4, we maintain our full year production guidance and continue to look forward to delivering Sukari's long-term target of 450,000-500,000 ounces per annum from 2015 onwards."
Shares rose 4.85% to 60.55p.