Shares in London-listed Tri-Star Resources fell on Monday, as the company reported that it had been informed of a technical issue at its 40%-owned Strategic and Precious Metals Processing (SPMP) facility, in Oman.
The company said its liquid metal had been produced in the reduction furnace at SPMP’s antimony and gold facility, but that owing to a technical issue with the refractory lining, it had not been possible to tap metal from the furnace.
“SPMP management is investigating possible improvements to the design, which is expected to take several weeks to implement,” Tri-Star reported.
Tri-Star’s share price fell by as much as 16% to 40.10p a share, before recouping some losses, trading at 48p a share by 14:20 in London.
The SPMP facility is one of the first modern designed, fully environmentally permitted, minor metal roasters to be built outside China in the last 30 years. Under full operating conditions, the plant will produce about 20 000 t/y of antimony products, supplemented by about 60 000 oz/y of gold.