PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper/gold miner Oz Minerals has postponed first saleable concentrate production from its Carrapateena copper project, in South Australia, by one month.

The ASX-listed miner on Tuesday said that first saleable concentrate production was now expected in December, with the revised timing blamed on incorrect vendor supplied items associated with the minerals processing plant.

Oz Minerals said that the correct parts have now been sourced, and remediation work is under way.

CEO Andrew Cole told shareholders that the postponement of first concentrate was disappointing, considering the remainder of the project construction was either complete or nearing completion.

However, he noted that this delay would have no influence on the project ramp-up in 2020, given the advanced state of the underground development.

“Over 200 000 t of ore is now stockpiled in preparation for commissioning in the minerals processing plant and underground development and installation of underground infrastructure is progressing well.”

As a result of the delay, Oz Minerals has scrapped the production guidance for the Carrapateena project for the 2019 financial year, with the miner saying that there would be no significant cash impact from the postponement. However, the delay, concurrent with mine development and underground infrastructure, would continue to be allocated into pre-production capital, with the project development costs of Carrapateena to first concentrate now expected to be in the range of between A$950-million and A$980-million as a result.

Meanwhile, Oz Minerals on Tuesday also reported a 34% increase in copper metal tonnage, to 5.2-million tonnes, and a gold metal increase of around 29%, to 7.4-million ounces, and a near 65% increase in the mineral resource estimate at Carrapateena, which now stood at one-billion tonnes.

Meanwhile, the mine life at the Prominent Hill operation has been extended by one year, to 2031, with the ore reserves standing at 39-million tonnes, grading 1.6% copper equivalent the proved reserves increasing to 77%.