07:56 AM EDT, 10/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Dundee Precious Metals ( DPMLF ) on Monday detailed preliminary gold and copper production results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024.

"Chelopech continued to deliver strong results, consistent with its long track record. Gold production at Ada Tepe was impacted by temporary operational challenges during the quarter, which have now been resolved," said David Rae, President and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement. "With strong year-to-date results and production expected to increase in the fourth quarter, both mines are on track to achieve 2024 guidance."

On Operational Highlights, Dundee said Chelopech produced approximately 43,900 ounces of gold and 7.3 million pounds of copper in the third quarter. Gold production was in line with expectations, while copper production was slightly lower than planned. It added Chelopech is "on-track" to achieve its 2024 guidance targets for gold and copper production.

Dundee noted Ada Tepe produced approximately 16,200 ounces of gold in the third quarter, which was lower than planned. It said this was a result of lower than expected grades, recoveries and fleet availability, as well as low rainfall in the region during the quarter. DPM anticipates increased production in the fourth quarter as mining has transitioned to an area of the pit with higher grades and recoveries, and challenges affecting fleet availability have been resolved based on root cause analysis and recent performance. It added Ada Tepe "remains on track" to achieve its guidance for gold production.

On return of capital to shareholders, DPM said it continues to return capital through a sustainable quarterly dividend and share repurchases under its normal course issuer bid. During the third quarter, DPM repurchased 1,072,500 common shares at an average price of US$9.25 (C$12.57) per share for a total of near US$9.9 million.

As previously announced in August 2024, DPM will pay a quarterly dividend of US$0.04 per share on October 15, 2024, to shareholders of record as at September 30, 2024.

DPM was up $0.08 or near 0.6% at $13.80 last Friday.