PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mineral sands miner Base Resources has reported a slight drop in heavy mineral concentrate production from its Kwale operation, in Kenya, during the quarter ended June, as mining transitioned from the Central Dune orebody to the South Dune.
The ASX- and Aim-listed company on Thursday reported that following depletion of the Central Dune, mining was relocated to the South Dune orebody, with mining restarting after a 14-day transition shutdown.
As a result of the transition, mining volumes in the quarter were some 3.64-million tonnes lower than the previous quarter.
Heavy mineral concentrate production decreased to 131 475 t during the quarter under review, compared with the 154 001 t produced in the March quarter.
However, heavy mineral concentrate stockpiles were used in the mineral separation plant, to ensure uninterrupted production during the quarter. The feed rate at the mineral separation plant remained at 71 t/h for the first two months of the quarter before returning to 87 t/h in the month of June.
Heavy mineral stockpiles were drawn down by 29 000 t to close the quarter at 20 000 t.
Ilmenite production for the quarter ended June was up slightly at 88 789 t, up from the 87 179 t produced in the March quarter, while rutile production increased from 20 171 t to 22 588 t, and zircon production from 6 943 t to 7 063 t in the same period.
Ilmenite sales volumes increased from 81 339 t to 99 620 t during the June and March quarters, while rutile sales increased from 14 593 t to 31 889 t, and zircon sales from 7 260 t to 7 968 t.
For the full year ended June, ilmenite production reached 402 690 t, which was within the guidance of between 385 000 t and 415 000 t, while rutile production of 92 389 t was also well within the guidance of 88 000 t to 94 000 t. Zircon production for the full year ended June also hit production targets of between 31 000 t and 34 000 t, with 31 941 t produced.
Base has lowered its production expectations for the 2020 financial year, compared with 2019, with between 315 000 t and 350 000 t of ilmenite production expected, between 64 000 t and 70 000 t of rutile, and between 25 000 t to 28 000 t of zircon.