JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Base metals miner Weatherly International CEO Rod Webster has warned that, at current production levels and copper prices, the company’s Central Operations were unsustainable.
The Namibia-focused miner’s Central Operations, which comprised the Matchless and Otjihase mines, produced 1 213 t of copper in the quarter ended December 31, a 17% drop on the 1 462 t produced in the previous quarter.
Cash costs increased by 23% to $7 209/t in the quarter under review, compared with cash costs of $5 844/t in the previous quarter, while copper was sold at $6 589/t in the quarter ended December 31.
Webster noted on Wednesday that Weatherly would review the situation at its Central Operations going forward.
The company had, throughout 2014, highlighted the negative impact of lower copper prices on its operations.
Weatherly was also developing the Tschudi copper project, also in Namibia, where commercial production was expected to start in the second quarter of this calendar year.