(Reuters) – Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd (OTC) Ltd reported a 10% increase in its third quarter gold production on Thursday. This was due to higher throughput rates at the Cadia mine, and the addition the Brucejack project following its acquisition by Pretium Resources (NYSE):

Nearly 6% increase in gold miners’ safe-haven commodity prices in March quarter has been a boon for them. This is because geopolitical tensions arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict have increased demand.

Newcrest, which is the largest country-based gold miner, reported that its output for March 31 was 479.839 ounces, compared to 436.085 ounces the quarter before. However, it missed Citi’s estimation of 535,000.

Newcrest’s Cadia gold mine, New South Wales’ flagship, saw a 30 percent increase in sequential production. This was due to an increased mill capacity after the replacement and upgrading of its semi-autogenous grinder (SAG).

Newcrest’s annual gold production has been slightly raised to between 1.93million and 2.03million, due to increased output from Brucejack in Ecuador and Fruta del Norte.

Affected by disruptions in projects such as COVID-19, and the expected decrease of activity at Lihir’s Lihir mine, the company reduced its forecast capital expenditure to $1.44 and $1.52 Billion respectively.