Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – With the Kanmantoo mine in South Australia now delivering on its production targets, copper miner Hillgrove Resources plans to look at its capital management options and the potential to return value to shareholders.
“The stability and outlook for the Kanmantoo operations have created the financial platform to explore these alternatives. Any value return option, including the potential for future dividends, is subject to the full repayment of existing debts to our financiers, which under the current schedule, is due to be complete by the end of July 2015,” the ASX-listed company said on Thursday.
The Kanmantoo mine produced 5 554 t of contained copper-in-concentrate during the three months to April, with a record 5.25-million tonnes of material mined during the first quarter, following the introduction of two larger excavators delivering increased truck productivity.
The operation generated revenue of A$45.5-million during the quarter, and C1 cash costs dropped to $2.11/lb.
Full-year production expectations at Kanmantoo have been maintained, with the project expected to deliver between 22 300 t and 24 600 t of copper-in-concentrate, and between 7 000 oz and 9 000 oz of gold-in-concentrate
Apart from reducing debt and focusing on returning shareholder value, Hillgrove would also look to further improve the performance of the Kanmantoo mine, the expansion of its regional resource through further exploration and the realisation of value from its Indonesian assets.
Exploration and investment groups were currently reviewing the Bird’s Head and Sumba Island assets, the miner said, adding that with both projects in the advanced exploration stage, the recent ban on mining exports did not have an impact on the value or potential progress of the next stage works.