| Tue 13 Jul 2010, 14:02 | | PAM - Palabora Mining Company Limited - Second Quarter 2010 - Operations |
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PAM
PAM
PAM - Palabora Mining Company Limited - Second Quarter 2010 - 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")
SECOND QUARTER 2010 - OPERATIONS OVERVIEW AND PRODUCTION STATISTICS
2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 1H 1H
2009 2009 2009 2010 2010 2009 2010
Palabora mine
Tonnes hoisted (`000 2,839 2,748 5,975 5,587
tonnes) 3,009 2,978 2,585
Ore treated (`000 2,940 2,792 2,809 2,784 2,861 5,729 5,645
tonnes)
0.68 0.66 0.67 0.66 0.64 0.68 0.65
Average ore grade:
copper (%)
76.1 61.8 65.8 61.8 57.9 143.2 119.7
Copper concentrates
produced
(`000 tonnes)
29.9 31.1 30.5 29.8 31.09 30.2 30.4
Average concentrate
grade:
copper (%)
22.7 19.3 20.1 18.4 18.00 43.2 36.4
Copper in
concentrates (`000
tonnes)
Palabora
smelter/refinery
New concentrate 68.0 58.5 67.3 57.7 59.6 140.8 117.3
smelted on site (`000
tonnes)
18.9 12.5 14.3 12.4 14.7 39.10 27.1
New copper anodes
produced
(`000 tonnes)
19.5 13.8 15.1 12.0 13.8 40.5 25.8
Refined new copper
produced
(`000 tonnes)
By-products:
Magnetite concentrate 617 758.7 697.2 754.1 780.4 1,389 1,534.5
(`000 tonnes)
Nickel contained 33 29 11.4 18.5 14.7 54 33.20
(tonnes)
Copper sold as 2.1 3.9 4.5 2.5 2.6 2.1 5.1
concentrate (`000
tonnes)
Vermiculite plant
Vermiculite produced 46 48 50 54 46 98 100
(`000 tonnes)
Palabora, 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 30,196 tonnes for the
quarter ended 30 June 2010. The production during the quarter was 3% lower than
the previous quarter and 9% lower than the corresponding period in 2009, mainly
due to Winder repairs and low availability of Long Haul Dumps ("LHD").
Preventative maintenance is ongoing and winder drum replacement is scheduled for
early 2011.
In total, 2,747,862 tonnes of ore were hoisted during the quarter with a copper
grade of 0.64%. Average concentrate grade was 4% higher than the previous
quarter and the corresponding period in 2009 due to higher proportion of high
grade slag reprocessed and discontinuance of toll milling of marginal ore which
was yielding lower concentrate grade.
Ore treated was 3% higher than the previous quarter and 3% lower than the
corresponding period in 2009. This was affected by lower underground production
due to the Winder repairs and the LHD`s availability.
Copper concentrate production was 6% lower than the previous quarter and 24%
lower than the corresponding period in 2009. This was mainly due to a
combination of a 44% increase in concentrate inventory of copper thickeners and
a 90% drop in toll milling concentrate. The increase in inventory resulted from
the processing of a higher tonnage of slag and an increase in the fineness of
the feed to the filter plant which reduced the throughput of the rotary drier
due to high feed moisture. The drop in toll milling concentrate was caused by
the changeover to toll milling of non-copper bearing ore.
Copper in concentrate was 2% lower than the previous quarter and 21% lower than
the corresponding period in 2009, mainly due to similar reasons as copper
concentrate production above.
The new concentrate smelted was 3% higher sequentially and 12% lower than the
corresponding period in 2009. This was mainly due to maintenance and replacement
of the Wolff cranes and rebuild of the reverb bath.
New anode production was 19% higher sequentially and 22% lower than the
corresponding period in 2009. The year on year variance was due to low feed
rates at the reverbratory furnace as a result of downtime at the furnace bath
and maintenance and replacement of the Wolff cranes. Process improvement and
technical consultants were engaged during the first quarter to address these
issues. As a result the Wolff cranes and the furnace bath came into full
operation during the second quarter. Normal production levels are expected in
the next quarter.
Magnetite
Magnetite production was 4% higher sequentially and 27% higher than the
corresponding period in 2009, as a result of increased stockpile reclaims. The
Transnet rail strike impacted shipments of magnetite reducing sales by 120,000
tonnes in June 2010.
Vermiculite Operations
Vermiculite production was 15% lower sequentially due to furnace related
production challenges.
The above information has not been reviewed or reported on by the Company`s
auditors.
Phalaborwa
13 July 2010
Sponsor:
Barnard Jacobs Mellet Corporate Finance (Proprietary) Limited
Date: 13/07/2010 14:02:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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