| Tue 16 Oct 2007, 11:18 | | PAM - Palabora - Third Quarter 2007 - Operations o |
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PAM
PAM
PAM - Palabora - Third Quarter 2007 - Operations overview and production
statistics
PALABORA MINING COMPANY LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
Registration number - 1956/002134/06
JSE Code: PAM ISIN: ZAE000005245
("Palabora" or "the Company")
THIRD QUARTER 2007 - OPERATIONS OVERVIEW AND PRODUCTION STATISTICS
3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS
2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007
Palabora mine
Tonnes hoisted (`000 2,771 2,832 2,917 3,065 3,041 8,186 9,023
tonnes)
Ore treated (`000 2,668 2,783 2,886 3,025 3,046 7,947 8,957
tonnes)
Average ore grade: 0.72 0.72 0.71 0.70 0.68 0.71 0.70
copper (%)
Copper concentrates 53.4 61.0 82.1 56.0 48.6 147.9 186.7
produced
(`000 tonnes)
Average concentrate 29.4 28.5 27.4 31.5 31.0 29.9 29.6
grade:
copper (%)
Copper in 15.7 17.4 22.5 17.6 15.0 44.1 55.2
concentrates (`000
tonnes)
Palabora
smelter/refinery
New concentrate 87.7 75.5 73.6 74.2 73.9 213.0 221.7
smelted on site (`000
tonnes)
New copper anodes 22.4 22.2 21.2 22.9 24.0 56.4 68.0
produced
(`000 tonnes)
Refined new copper 22.9 22.1 20.8 22.9 24.0 59.1 67.7
produced
(`000 tonnes)
By-products:
Magnetite concentrate 299 281 262 321 361 846 943
(`000 tonnes)
Refined nickel 25 32 21 164 489 88 674
sulphate (tonnes)
Copper sold as - 5 9 1 - 11 10
concentrate (`000
tonnes)
Vermiculite plant
Vermiculite produced 52 50 50 50 50 148 150
(`000 tonnes)
Palabora Mining Company, a member of the Rio Tinto Group of Companies, situated
in the Ba-Phalaborwa area of Limpopo, operates a large block cave copper mine
and smelter complex.
Daily production from the underground mine averaged 33,050 tonnes for the
quarter. The tonnes hoisted were 10% higher than the corresponding period in
2006 and 2% lower than the second quarter of 2007.
The tonnes hoisted for the 9 months of 2007 were 10% higher than the
corresponding period in 2006. In total, 3,040,631 tonnes of ore were hoisted
during the quarter with a copper grade of 0.68%, and 9, 023, 478 tonnes in the
first 9 months of 2007 at an overall grade of 0.70%.
Copper concentrate production from the underground mine in the quarter was 9%
lower than the corresponding quarter in 2006 and 13% lower sequentially due to
an overflow to the reclaimed ponds (6,416 tonnes). The overflow concentrate is
being reclaimed.
Anodes production was 7% higher than the corresponding quarter in 2006 and 4%
higher sequentially. Improved first pass recovery and smelting performance
contributed to the increase in new anode production.
Refined copper was 5% higher compared with the corresponding quarter in 2006 and
5% higher sequentially due to improved efficiencies and operating more sections.
Magnetite
Production for export magnetite during the quarter increased mainly due to an
increase in rail wagons rolling stock and subsequent increase in logistics
capacity to the port of Richards Bay.
Vermiculite Operations
Vermiculite production during the quarter was in line with that of the previous
quarter but 4% below the corresponding quarter in 2006. Overall, plant recovery
during the quarter was 63%. The recovery of the three coarser grades remains
high and above prior recoveries. Higher recoveries on large grade resulted in a
production increase of 13% compared with the third quarter in 2006.
Phalaborwa
16 October 2007
Sponsor:
Barnard Jacobs Mellet Corporate Finance (Pty) Limited
Date: 16/10/2007 11:18:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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