PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Nickel producer Panoramic Resources expected full-year production to be at the lower end of its guidance of between 20 000 t and 21 000 t, as the March quarter delivered less volume.
Panoramic told shareholders on Friday that nickel-in-concentrate production for the full year would be affected by a rescheduling of production stopes at the Western Australia-based Lanfranchi operation during the June quarter, which would push some production into the 2016 financial year.
Meanwhile, Panoramic on Friday also reported that production for the March quarter was down 3% on the previous quarter, with 4 678 t of nickel-in-concentrate produced.
The mill at the Savannah operation was down for a period of six days during the quarter, resulting in lower monthly production. The average mill grades in March, however, were above budget, and year-to-date nickel production was expected to remain on budget.
At the Lanfranchi operation, production in January and February remained steady; however, mined and delivered tonnes during the month of March were below budget, owing to lower-than-expected jumbo drill availability.