The Proyecto Riotinto mine, in Spain, expects to reach its expanded throughput rate of 15-million tonnes a year by the end of 2019, despite delays to increased electricity supply.
The expansion project reached full mechanical completion on August 19 and has started ramping up. However, the increase in throughput capacity and the full completion relies on additional electricity supply to be provided by power supplier Endesa.
Although work is under way to provide the additional electricity supply, it has not yet been completed and the project is now slightly delayed, Aim- and TSX-listed Atalaya Mining reported on Thursday.
As a result, the company has reviewed its existing production guidance and now expects 10.6-million tonnes of ore to be processed in 2019 with copper produced expected to be in the range of 44 000 t to 45 000 t, compared with the 45 000 t to 46 500 t previously guided.
Atalaya stated that it remained confident that the expansion project would reach nameplate capacity by the end of 2019 with production in 2020 expected to be in the range of 55 000 t to 58 000 t.
In the third quarter, the miner produced 10 568 t of copper, which was in line with expectations, but slightly below the second quarter production, owing to lower recovery levels and copper head grade.
An average copper head grade of 0.47% and a recovery rate of 87.38% for the 2.6-million tonnes of ore processed have resulted in copper production being 2.9% lower than in the second quarter.