Nov 15 2011
African Copper Plc, the AIM and Botswana listed copper producer and exploration company, announces a production update for its Mowana and Thakadu Mines for the first and second quarters of the Company's financial year.
Highlights
- In terms of copper produced in concentrate, production for the first and second quarters was 176 per cent and 53 per cent higher than the respective quarters from last year.
- Copper produced in concentrate continued to progressively increase during the second quarter with total production of 1,812 tonnes and record production levels achieved in August.
- Advances in production levels were achieved due to marked improvements in maintenance strategies at the secondary and tertiary crushers, improved production at Thakadu, higher availability of the mill and increasing recoveries as mining moved from more oxidic areas to more supergene rich areas at Mowana and Thakadu.
- Continuing plant upgrades are in progress and are expected to be completed by the year end.
Production
Combined production levels for the Company's first and second financial year quarters (ending 30 June 2011 and 30 September 2011 respectively) are set out below, together with comparatives:
In terms of copper produced in concentrate, production for the first and second quarters was 176 per cent and 53 per cent higher than the respective quarters from last year. Copper production continued to increase during the second quarter. Total copper produced in concentrate was 1,812 tonnes, with record production levels achieved in August. The progressive improvements in production are attributable to a number of factors including increased mining flexibility at Mowana and Thakadu, increased ore delivery to the plant as a result of improved production at Thakadu, successful maintenance strategies at the secondary and tertiary crushers, higher availability of the mill and efficiency improvements at the filtration plant. Daily throughput at the filtration plant has increased from 80 tpd to between 160 and 200 tpd due to the following:
- Improved feed density as a result of changes made to the thickener underflow pumps;
- Increased feed pressure as a result of enhanced feed valves:
- Improved solid separation from better filter cloth aperture size control; and
- Instalment of new filter press plates.
Increased recoveries are anticipated over the next two quarters as mining operations progressively move at Mowana from more oxidic areas to more supergene rich areas and at Thakadu towards sulphide mineralisation.
A number of plant upgrades are currently in progress and are planned for completion by the year end:
- Installation of a new tertiary crusher is currently underway. A new secondary crusher is planned for installation at the end of November. These crushers are expected to increase operational efficiency and increase throughput to the mill.
- The installation of column flotation cells is currently underway and is expected to remove impurities, specifically silica during flotation, resulting in a cleaner higher grade concentrate.
- Installation of a Larox filter is planned during December to increase filtration efficiency, allowing higher throughput of concentrate with a lower moisture content.
Commenting, Jordan Soko, Acting Chief Executive of African Copper Plc, said, "I am happy to state that we have moved closer to achieving our intended level of steady state copper production. These have been two progressively strong quarters for the Company, which have seen substantially increased production and numerous initiatives put in place to ensure the long term improvement of our mining activities. I look forward to informing the market of further updates in due course."
The technical information in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by David De'Ath, BSc (Hons), MSc, GDE-Mining, MIMM and MAusIMM, the Company's Manager - Geology, of the Mowana Mine for the purposes of the current Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in June 2009.
Source: www.africancopper.com