JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining and development company Atalaya Mining is confident of meeting its 34 000 t to 40 000 t copper production target at the Proyecto Riotinto mine in Andalucía, Spain, as the mine produced in line with its second-quarter targets.
Second-quarter copper production increased to 9 058 t, from 8 805 t in the first quarter of 2017 and 4 442 t in the June quarter of 2016.
The operation maintained its throughput rate of 2.2-million tonnes of ore, but the recovery rate increased to a record 85.09% in the quarter under review, Aim- and TSX-listed Atalaya reported on Monday.
The company stated that adjusted drilling and blasting parameters had resulted in a higher mining rate at Proyecto Riotinto. Atalaya added that the mining contractor was upgrading the mining fleet in anticipation of further increases in the mining rate, with new loaders and trucks expected to be delivered to site over the next two quarters.
Further, the miner reported that initiatives to reduce operating costs of the mine continued. Additional rougher flotation capacity was added in order to increase plant recoveries and a partial plastic lining was installed to parts of the tailings pond to improve water recycle management.
All-in sustaining costs for the full year were guided in the $1.90/lb to $2.10/lb range.
Meanwhile, work is continuing at the Proyecto Touro project, which the company hopes will be its second operating mine in Spain.
Metallurgical testwork has demonstrated that high-grade clean concentrates and high recovery rates could be achieved at Proyecto Touro. The company has also completed 26 557 m of exploration and in-fill drilling, which will provide the basis of an National Instrument 43-101 technical report.
Atalaya said that the technical report was at an advanced stage and that it was expected to be at a prefeasibility level of detail in the near future. Completion was brought forward to the beginning of the fourth quarter from the original estimate of the end of 2017.