Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper miner Aditya Birla on Friday told shareholders that it would produce between 16 000 t and 18 000 t of copper during 2014/15, from its newly restarted Nifty mine, in Western Australia.
Operations at Nifty resumed in July this year, after mining was suspended in March following the discovery of a sinkhole.
Aditya Birla said that mining activities at Nifty have progressed, albeit with smaller crews than originally planned, with temporary contractors being used to cover gaps in the workforce, as and when required.
Processing activities at Nifty have also been successfully restarted, and were currently running at a rate of around 120 000 t/m of ore. This would be ramped up to between 150 000 t/m and 160 000 t/m within the next few months, the miner said.
A loss adjuster appointed by Aditya Birla’s insurer recently reported that the operations were not covered by insurance, and that certain exclusions would apply to the circumstances surrounding the sinkhole incident.
The company has vowed to seek legal advice on the report.