PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Tiger Resources has exceeded its production guidance at the Kipoi copper project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, producing some 36 962 t of copper in concentrate during 2012.
The miner said in a statement that the 2012 production exceeded production guidance by some 6%.
While operating costs for the year were yet to be finalised, the ASX- and TSX-listed miner noted that operations at Kipoi achieved two lost-time injury-free periods of one-million man hours each, as well as zero reported environmental or social incidents.
During 2013, Tiger was expecting production from Kipoi to reach some 37 000 t in concentrate, with average direct cash costs of 48c/lb expected. This cash cost was significantly below the guidance of 65c/lb for 2012.
Tiger had opted for a staged development of its Kipoi project, with Stage 1 producing from the Kipoi Central deposit. During the three-year operation of Stage 1, some 1.9-million tons a year of ore, at 7% copper, would be processed through the HMS plant, with a recovery rate of 55%, to produce some 35 000 t/y of copper.