Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) shares are on the slide this morning despite the company commencing gold mining at its Tampia mine.
At the time of writing, the Ramelius share price is trading 5.85% lower at $1.69.
First ore mined at Tampia
Ramelius shares are sinking in morning trade despite the company advising it has commenced ore mining at its Tampia gold mine following open-pit mining in late April 2021.
Mining will initially take place from the project's North Pit and shortly move to the higher grade Mace and South Pit areas.
Ramelius says that the project has commenced on schedule and it is on track to despatch the first road train of high-grade ore to its Edna May processing facility in early June 2021.
To add some perspective for what Tampia brings to the table, management previously advised that the project "represents approximately 60,000 ounces in our FY2022 production profile".
This compares to the company's FY21 production guidance of 260,000 to 280,000 oz at an all-in sustaining cost of A$1,230 to A$1,330.
What did management say?
Ramelius managing director Mark Zeptner said:
Gold from Tampia will represent a significant proportion of our FY2022 production target and will be our first new mine in the Western Australian wheat belt where we believe we will deliver significant returns for all stakeholders.
What's driving the Ramelius share price lower?
Despite the seemingly positive news, the Ramelius share price is currently down by almost 6%. The company's shares could be reacting to the slump in gold prices overnight.
Last night, gold prices dropped sharply by about 2.5% from US$1,858 per ounce to lows of US$1,803 per ounce.
The Ramelius share price isn't the only ASX gold mining stock under pressure today, with peers including Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) sliding between 2.04% and 5.29%.
