PERTH (miningweekly.com) − Gold and copper company PanAust on Monday reported that its 2011 production guidance for the Phu Kham mine remained unchanged, as the operation operated above nameplate capacity.

The Phu Kham operation, in Laos, achieved a copper in concentrate production of 15 184 t during the quarter ended June, bringing total copper production for the six months to June to 30 213 t.

The company produce 13 976 oz of gold in the June quarter, and 27 268 oz in the six-month period.

PanAust said on Monday that the operation processed ore at an annualised rate of nearly 13.7-million tons, above the nameplate capacity of 12-million tons a year. Copper recovery also averaged around 70%, reflecting the mix of the ore types processed.

Looking at the 2011 production forecast, PanAust said that Phu Kham’s guidance remained unchanged at between 62 000 t and 65 000 t in copper concentrate, between 50 000 oz and 55 000 oz of gold, and between 450 000 oz and 500 000 oz of silver.

However, the miner said that wet season impacts on production to date have been greater than anticipated, causing full-year copper production to lean towards the lower end of the guidance range.

The Phu Kham operations recorded two one-in-50 year rainfall events within a seven-day period in late June/early July, with production being interrupted during these severe rainfall events. The operation lost around two days of concentrate production in June and a further three days at the end of the quarter, in July.

Despite the slightly lower guidance for copper production, PanAust said that gold and silver production would likely be towards the upper end of the guidance range, as a consequence of positive reconciliation during the first half of the year, for both precious metals.

The metals miner said that following the commissioning and ramp-up of the Phu Kham upgrade and the Ban Houayxai gold/silver project, during 2012, combined yearly production from these operations would amount to between 65 000 t and 70 000 t of copper, and more than 150 000 oz of gold and one-million ounces of silver.

The Phu Kham upgrade would take the current ore-processing rates from 12-million tons a year to 16-million tons a year, and was timed to coincide with a scheduled decline in ore haed grade.

Commissioning of the $110-million upgrade would likely take place in the June quarter of next year.

The Ban Houayxai gold-silver project would comprise an openpit mine, feeding ore into a conventional four-million-ton-a-year carbon-in-leach processing plant, capable of producing over 100 000 oz/y of gold and 700 000 oz/y of silver.

The project was scheduled for commissioning in late 2011, with steady state production being reached in the March quarter of next year.
 

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.