TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Katanga Mining earned $15,3-million in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with a net loss of $12,6-million in the third quarter, the copper- and cobalt-miner announced on Monday.

Shares in the company jumped more than 10% on the news, and investors applauded the improvement in the firm's position compared with this time last year.

“Katanga re-established its short- and medium-term objectives in 2009 and consolidated efforts to improve the fundamental aspects of the business with regard to safety, production and unit cost of production,” new CEO John Ross said in a statement.

In the last three months of 2009, Katanga generated sales revenue of $100-million, from the sale of 10 275 t of copper and 680 t of cobalt.

For the full year, Katanga's Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) mining complex produced 41 964 t of copper, 2 534 t of cobalt and 4 120 t of finished copper concentrate.

From the first quarter to the fourth quarter, copper production increased from 8 715 t to 13 382 t and cobalt production increased from 487 t to 824 t, the company noted.

Katanga declared commercial production on October 1 for the second phase of its rehabilitation programme, which involved an expansion in capacity to 70 000 t/y of copper cathode.

The company also started prestripping and dewatering of the KOV pit in November and expects to start commercial production from the pit in the third quarter of this year.

In 2010, Katanga expects to produce 82 000 t of copper cathode and 5 500 t of cobalt metal.

The company is also accelerating development of its assets, and is targeting a production rate of 150 000 t/y of copper and 8 000 t/y of contained cobalt by the second quarter of 2011.

The funds needed to achieve these targets are expected to come from existing cash balances and cash generated from operations.

Katanga is consolidating, rehabilitating and expanding the neighbouring Kamoto and KOV operations in the DRC, after merging with rival Nikanor in 2008.

The company announced in September it had revised its project development plan, to combine Phases Three and Four into one new 'Phase Three', which would increase production through the refurbishment of existing facilities and infrastructure at the Kamoto concentrator and the Luilu refinery by the end of the second quarter of 2011.

The firm had a difficult start to 2009, after scaling back operations and spending in response to weak metals prices, and with financing hard to come by because of the financial crisis.

Shareholder Glencore initially came to the rescue by underwriting a large convertible loan facility and agreeing to amend the terms of an existing loan to Katanga.

The company was eventually able to improve its position by closing a $250-million rights offering in July, and in August signed an amended joint-venture agreement with DRC State-miner Gécamines, bringing its government contract review process to an end and significantly reducing the risk associated with its assets and operations.

Katanga shares rose 10,94% on Monday, to C$0,71 apiece by 13:21 in Toronto.