| Wed 13 Jul 2011, 15:00 | | PAM - Palabora Mining Company Limited - Second Quarter 2011 - operations |
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PAM - Palabora Mining Company Limited - Second Quarter 2011 - 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 2011 - OPERATIONS OVERVIEW AND PRODUCTION STATISTICS
4Q 1Q 2Q H1 H1
2Q 3Q
2010 2010 2010 2011 2011 2010 2011
Palabora mine
Tonnes hoisted (`000 2,748 2,812 2,838 2,601 2,715 5,587 5,316
tonnes)
Ore treated (`000 tonnes) 2,861 2,887 3,126 2,845 2,964 5,645 5,809
Average ore grade: copper 0.64 0.64 0.63 0.65 0.65 0.66
(%) 0.66
57.9 61.1 65.2 58.4 61.2 119.7 119.6
Copper concentrates
produced (`000 tonnes)
Average concentrate grade: 31.1 31 29.5 29.5 30.7 30.4 30.1
copper (%)
Copper in concentrates 18 18.9 19.3 17.3 18.7 36.4 36
(`000 tonnes)
Palabora smelter/refinery
New concentrate smelted on 59.6 61.4 62.1 62.3 62.6 117.3 124.9
site (`000 tonnes)
New copper anodes produced 14.6 14.3 14.4 14.7 18.2 27.1 32.9
(`000 tonnes)
Refined new copper produced 13.8 14.7 17.5 14.8 17.3 25.8 32.1
(`000 tonnes)
Joint product:
Magnetite concentrate (`000 780 764 695 880 820 1,535 1,700
tonnes)
By-products:
Nickel contained in 15 15 24 27 28 33.2 55
products (tonnes)
2.6 0.5 4.3 1.3 0.4 5.1 1.7
Copper sold as concentrate
(`000 tonnes)
Vermiculite plant
Vermiculite produced (`000 46 51 45 51 100 94
tonnes) 43
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, mines and exports magnetite and operates a vermiculite mining
and processing facility.
Total ore hoisted increased to 2.7m tonnes compared to 2.6m tonnes during the
previous quarter and in line with the corresponding period in 2010. The winder
drum challenges have been resolved with the replacement of the south winder
drum in February and the north winder drum in April. Winder optimisation
initiatives are currently under way and this will further enhance the hoisting
rates into the future. Daily ore hoisted following the winder drum replacement
averaged 29 835 tonnes compared with 28 903 in the previous quarter and 30 196
for the corresponding period in 2010.
Ore treated increased 4% to 3m tonnes compared to the previous quarter of 2.8m
tonnes and the corresponding period of 2.9m tonnes. Ore milled was impacted by
the girth gear replacement schedule overruns at the auto mills at the end of
May and beginning of June due to engineering difficulties. The impact of the
overrun was mitigated by the suspension of toll milling to accommodate
Palabora`s material, increased slag processing and diversion of underground
material to the secondary crushers. Normal operations at the auto mills have
been restored.
Copper concentrate production was 61.2kt, 5% higher than the previous quarter
production of 58.4 and 6% higher than the corresponding period in 2010. The
primary crusher failure in the first quarter of 2011 affected production for
one week and the girth gear replacement overrun had a corresponding impact in
the second quarter. The overruns in the girth gear replacement and primary
crusher failures were offset by slag reprocessing through the concentrator
Copper in concentrate production was 18.7kt, 8% higher than the previous
quarter and 4% higher than the corresponding period in 2010. The copper
concentrate grade was 30.7% higher than the previous quarter due to increased
processing of high grade slag although marginally lower than the corresponding
period in 2010.
New concentrate smelted was 62.6kt and in line with the previous quarter but
5% higher than the corresponding period in 2010 due to improved Wolff crane
availability and the impact of higher levels of ore treated. New anode
production increased to 18.2kt and 24% higher compared to the previous quarter
and 25% higher than the corresponding period in 2010 due to improved smelter
recoveries and processing of available reverts. Process improvement
initiatives implemented at the smelter from mid 2010 and into the first half
of 2011, including technical support, are now delivering improved results with
performance being continually monitored to achieve consistency of higher
smelter recoveries. Acid disposal remains a constraint due to the oversupply
in the market with continued focus on export markets within the SADC region.
Refined copper production was 17.3kt in line with anode supply but 17% higher
than the previous quarter and 25% higher than the corresponding period in 2010
following improved throughput from the smelter. The refinery operated an
average of 14 sections for the quarter compared to 11 in the previous quarter
and 10 sections in the corresponding period in 2010.
Anode and refined copper inventory has increased compared to the first quarter
of 2011 and the comparative quarter in the previous year. This is due to both
improved smelter and refinery performance and additional production ahead of
the planned smelter August shut down to rebuild the reverb furnace which will
result in no anode production during this period. The Company will continue to
mine and treat ore during this period which will be smelted and refined once
the reverb furnace is brought back on-line.
Magnetite production was 820kt, 7% lower than the previous quarter but 5%
higher than the corresponding period in 2010. Magnetite production is aligned
to logistical constraints on rail wagons availability to transport material to
port.
Vermiculite production was 51kt, 19% higher than the previous quarter and 11%
higher than the corresponding period in 2010. Production during the first
quarter was affected by rainy weather conditions. The increased production is
consistent with increased demand in the finer vermiculite grades.
The above information has not been reviewed or reported on by the Company`s
auditors.
Phalaborwa
13 July 2011
Sponsor
One Capital
Date: 13/07/2011 15:00:02 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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