Photo by: Tiger Resources
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper cathode producer Tiger Resources has reported record production during the month of December, as its solvent extraction electrowinning (SX-EW) plant, at its Kipoi project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reported its first quarter at nameplate capacity.
The SX-EW plant produced its first copper cathode in May last year, and by September had reached its nameplate production rate of 25 000 t/y.
During the month of December, Tiger produced a record 2 301 t of copper cathode, bringing production in the quarter ended December to 6 438 t. Tiger told shareholders on Friday that the quarterly production rate had exceeded the nameplate design by about 3%.
Cathode sales for the quarter reached 6 516 t, generating a gross revenue of A$42.7-million, up from the 5 225 t sold in the September quarter for a gross revenue of A$35.6-million.
Tiger said that cathode sales for the December quarter were above the yearly target rates of 25 000 t, as the seasonal impact of reduced export clearing and transport services during the Christmas period resulted in the stockpile balance being exported in early January.
For 2015, Tiger expected Kipoi’s copper cathode production to reach 25 000 t, at an average operating cost of between $1.30/lb and $1.40/lb, while all-in sustaining costs were expected to be between $1.57/lb and $1.67/lb.
The Kipoi operation would continue to process the above-ground stockpiles generated from the now defunct heavy mineral sands (HMS) operation, and would stack some one-million tonnes on the heap leach cells during the year, at an average grade of 3.6% copper.
Some 200 000 t of low-grade ore and HMS floats blend would also be stacked in the third quarter.