JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mineral sands miner Sierra Rutile says that rutile production in the third quarter, at 43 081 t, was its highest since the restart of operations in 2006.
Rutile production for the quarter was 27% higher quarter-on-quarter and 24% higher year-on-year.
The strong results demonstrate the benefits from improvements to plant utilisation and availability undertaken during 2015 and early 2016, as well as the successful commissioning of the Sierra Leone-based Gangama dry mine in May.
"We are delighted with the excellent production performance for the quarter, demonstrating the strength of our operations. In particular, the Gangama dry mine continues to perform ahead of our expectations. We anticipate a strong final quarter and we remain on track to meet our production guidance for the full year," CEO John Sisay said in a statement on Friday.
Sierra Rutile is targeting output of 135 000 t to 145 000 t of rutile for the full year, with 104 489 t produced in the nine months to September 30.
Sierra Rutile also continues to produce ilmenite in line with customer demand.
Ilmenite production for the quarter reached 7 143 t, up 42% on the 5 025 t produced in the second quarter of the year, but 30% lower than the 10 229 t produced in the third quarter of 2015.