Kingsgate had a solid year with gold production 
of 199,897 ounces at a total cash cost of 
US$888 per ounce (including royalties). 
Chatree had a strong year following receipt of 
the final approvals for the expansion plant and 
the combined plant has been operating at a 
steady rate of 6.2 million tonnes per annum, 
24% above nameplate capacity. 
Challenger had a difficult year and was severely 
impacted by an unplanned dilution and deple-
tion at Challenger Deeps, that when coupled 
with the lower gold price and ongoing metal 
price uncertainty, led to a major restructure of 
mining at Challenger to focus primarily on the 
higher grade Challenger West orebody. 
Kingsgate management and staff continue to 
work towards realising the operational poten-
tial of the Company’s two gold mines and to 
complete the feasibility studies currently 
underway at Nueva Esperanza and Bowdens.
Operations
Chatree
Chatree continued as Kingsgate’s primary 
production asset throughout the year, producing 
133,681 ounces of gold and 1,000,569 ounces of 
silver. The strong production performance was 
achieved despite some operational hurdles with 
slower than anticipated Government approvals 
to allow full utilisation of the expanded plant.
The delay of 63 days in approval of Plant #2 
Metallurgical License and lower than expected 
availability of some of the mining contractors’ 
major mining equipment negatively impacted 
production. However, near surface higher grades 
in Q Prospect mitigated these difficulties 
resulting in a strong final quarter for the year.
Total mill throughput for the year was 5.7 million 
tonnes, 11.4% higher than 2012, despite the 
impact of the 63 day delay during which the new 
plant was not operating. 
The overall plant availability of 98.1% was 
slightly lower than the previous year’s 98.4%. 
The expanded plant is operating around 24% 
above the annual “nameplate” throughput rate 
at 6.2 million tonnes per annum and this is 
expected to continue.
Total cash costs for the year were US$767 per 
ounce (US$620 per ounce exclusive of Thai 
royalties). The average royalty paid to the Thai 
Government was $US147 per ounce of gold.
Chatree continues to demonstrate world’s best 
practice for safety and the environment with no 
lost time incidents (“LTI”) or reportable environ-
mental incidents occurring at Chatree during 
the year.
Challenger
The Challenger Mine had a difficult year and 
produced 66,216 ounces of gold at a total cash 
cost of US$1,135/oz. The grade of the processed 
ore was 3.91 grams per tonne, which was lower 
than expected due to a shortfall in ore supply 
from the mine that was supplemented by low 
grade ore from stockpiles. Higher dilution in 
stopes at the base of the mine (Challenger 
Deeps) and depletion on those levels, due to the 
additional displacement of the ore horizons 
following the identification of the ‘215 Shear’, 
contributed to the lower than expected produc-
tion from the lower levels. A shortfall in under-
ground development also limited access to ore 
sources.
Development and mining commenced at the 
higher grade Challenger West orebody during 
the year but was insufficient to offset the short-
fall from Challenger Deeps.
The transition to the new mine plan, focussing 
primarily on the higher grade Challenger West 
orebody, will take around three months before 
the cost and operational benefits start to be 
realised. These changes are complemented by 
the changeover to a new mining contractor who 
commenced operations on 1 August 2013.
Managing Director  
and CEO’s Report
Gavin Thomas
Managing Director and CEO
Managing Director and CEO’s Report
3
continued
u
MD and CEO’s Report
Chatree's Total 
mill throughput 
for the year was 
5.7 million tonnes, 
1 1.4% higher  
than 2012...