PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Panoramic Resources has produced the first nickel/copper/cobalt concentrate from its Savannah processing plant, in Western Australia, some three weeks ahead of schedule.
“It’s fantastic to see the careful planning and hard work undertaken over the past 12 months culminate in the commencement of processing ahead of schedule. The leadership group at site and our business partner Primero have been working hard to deliver on the restart of the processing plant and have achieved this safely,” said Panoramic CEO and MD Victor Rajasooriar.
“We have been pleased with the performance of the plant through the commissioning phase and will now target ramp-up to steady state production over the coming months.”
The one-million-tonne-a-year processing plant at Savannah has been successfully commissioned three weeks ahead of schedule, and the crushing, milling and flotation circuits, and tailings processing, have achieved operational stability with concentrate production underway. Concentrate haulage from site to Wyndham port is planned to commence next week, with haulage contractor Cambridge Gulf having already recruited a local workforce for concentrate haulage.
“As underground mining continues at Savannah and ore production steadily builds, the surface ore stockpile, which is currently sitting at over 120 000 t, will provide consistent feed to the processing plant and reduce any risk to throughput rates. The timing of first concentrate production has also aligned well with prices for nickel, copper and cobalt, which have continued to show strength as the year progresses,” said Rajasooriar.
“We are in the process of securing our first ship to transport the concentrate to Jinchuan, our current offtake partner, with the first shipment planned for December 2021.”