TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX- and NYSE-listed Nevsun Resources this week reported copper output in the second half of 2013 came in at the top end of its guidance, after the copper expansion project at its Bisha mine, in Eritrea, was completed on time and under budget.

The Vancouver-based firm on Thursday said copper-in-concentrate output totalled 48-million pounds during the second half of the year, compared with its forecast of 30-million to 50-million pounds. For the three months ended December 31, Nevsun produced 36-million pounds of copper.

The miner also said that gold output for the full year totalled 92 000 oz of gold in doré, including 20 000 equivalent ounces in precious metals concentrate.

Nevsun said that the Bisha copper plant continued to ramp up after reaching commercial production last month, resulting in December annualised output totalling 190-million pounds of copper, with recovery rates at 84% with a copper concentrate grade of 32%. Commissioning of the copper expansion flotation plant began in the third quarter of last year.

"December demonstrated the capability of the newly commissioned copper plant to meet production expectations in 2014. We look forward to realising significant cash flow in 2014 as we continue to process ultrahigh-grade supergene ore and look to monetise the various stockpiled precious metal materials,” Nevsun CEO Cliff Davis said.

During the fourth quarter, the mine moved 3.2-million tonnes of material, close to rates in the third quarter, and significantly higher than both the first and second quarters of last year, when the mine fell behind on waste stripping.

Improvements in the primary excavator and haul truck availability, as well as new equipment, had allowed the operation to catch up on waste stripping.

The Bisha mine produced low-cost gold/silver doré until mid-2013 when, through a $110-million copper expansion, throughput expanded to 2.4-million tonnes a year and the product switched to copper in concentrate.

From when it switched its primary product, Bisha had produced nearly 100 000 t of copper concentrate, with more than 65 000 t shipped in the fourth quarter. The company said the main focus was to ensure that the land transport kept up with its production rates.