JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed miner Weatherly International has produced the first copper cathode at its Namibia-based Tschudi project's electrowinning circuit.
However, the company reported in a statement to shareholders on Tuesday that there were a number of operational and technical issues at the low-cost openpit mine, adding that it had requested a temporary suspension in trading of its shares on the London Stock Exchange.
The issues related to initial recovery of copper from the heap leach pads, which required the company to undertake further investigative work.
The results of this were being assessed in terms of the potential to affect the performance of the project.
Weatherly would also discuss this with Orion Mine Finance, its project lender, who had a secured loan over the project.
Subject to the results of the investigative work, the company would be defining a course of action, in conjunction with its project lender, whose consent was required under the terms of the company's financing arrangement. Accordingly the company's current financial position was subject to significant uncertainty.
Weatherly’s shares would remain suspended in the interim.