PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper miner Sandfire Resources has reported an increase in copper production from its DeGrussa operation, in Western Australia, as the ramp-up of the underground mine continued.
The miner said on Thursday that the underground operation had achieved a run rate of 1.4-million tonnes a year during the month of September, just shy of its 1.5-million-tonnes-a-year capacity. The plant nameplate was maintained during the quarter, with copper recovery increasing with the removal of openpit ore from the blend.
During the September quarter, the DeGrussa mine delivered 16 446 t of copper concentrate, compared with the 14 293 t delivered in the previous quarter, and 8 613 oz of gold, compared with the 11 284 oz delivered in the three months to June.
Sandfire said that concentrate and metal production would be weighted towards the second half of the financial year, owing to the expected variability in mined head grade across different stopes, as part of the underground mine plan between the December quarter of 2013 and the March and June quarters of next year.
For the full year, Sandfire’s production target remained unchanged at between 65 000 t and 75 000 t of contained copper, and between 35 000 oz and 45 000 oz of gold.