Sierra Rutile lifts FY output
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Sierra Rutile produced 38 787 t of rutile and 10 484 t of ilmenite at its operations in Sierra Leone in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Production was 25% higher than that of the comparative period of 2014.
CEO John Sisay noted that this marked the highest yearly production since 2006, which was achieved despite a difficult backdrop, including the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.
The country was declared Ebola-free in November.
A minor dryer failure in the mineral separation plant during the last week of the year had, however, caused a temporary processing interruption and resulted in 1 550 t of rutile being held partially processed at year-end.
The material would be processed this month.
Production for the full 2015 stood at 126 021 t of rutile and 37 633 t of ilmenite – increases of 10% and 5% respectively over that produced in 2014.
Direct operating cash costs were $537/t and all-in operating cash costs were $666/t, resulting in a reduction in unit operating costs for 2015 compared with 2014.
Cost control continued to be a key focus for the fourth quarter, as Sierra Rutile continued to target producing in the lowest quartile on the global cost curve.
“In a challenging marketplace for suppliers to the mining sector, we took advantage of improved pricing and payment terms for goods and services. Lower fuel prices and the devaluation of certain non-US dollar currencies in which goods and services are priced also had a beneficial impact.
“In addition, with the majority of costs being fixed in nature, higher production volumes also lowered unit costs,” the company stated.
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