In morning trade the Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) share price is jumping higher following the release of a production update.
At the time of writing the nickel producer's shares are up 7% to a multi-year high of $6.96.
What did Independence Group announce?
This morning Independence Group revealed its preliminary metal production for the Nova and Tropicana operations for the December quarter and the first half of FY 2020.
According to the release, a consistently strong operational performance at Nova has resulted in nickel, copper and cobalt production that exceeds its pro-rated guidance range.
Pleasingly, the same can be said for Independence Group's Tropicana operation. Gold production and sales at Tropicana have also exceeded their pro-rated FY 2020 guidance. This follows an excellent second quarter performance.
The level of its outperformance can be seen on the chart below:
Bushfire update.
The company revealed that the devastating bushfires that are sweeping through Australia are raging close to the company's Nova operation.
However, there has been no threat to workers or infrastructure at Nova. As a result, its second quarter production was unaffected. Furthermore, based on its current understanding, it does not expect any material impact to its third quarter performance.
Outlook.
The company's managing director and CEO, Peter Bradford, appears confident on its prospects in the second half.
He said: "Production at Nova and Tropicana beat guidance in the December Quarter and the first half of FY20 reflecting the quality of both operations and the dedication and focus of the Nova and Tropicana teams."
"Looking ahead to the second half of FY20, we are expecting Nova to maintain performance in line with guidance as we continue to focus on delivering cost improvements and continuous improvement of operational efficiencies. At Tropicana, we also expect to produce within guidance for the year, with lower gold production during 2H20, in line with our mine plan," he added.
