JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The operating turnaround plan for the Drakelands mine at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in Devon, south-west England, is gaining momentum and is delivering benefits across the business, with production and sales up 15% for the September quarter, Wolf Minerals MD Richard Lucas reported on Tuesday.

Daily throughput of 12 370 t was achieved, delivering 35 601 metric tonne units (mtu) of tungsten production in the September quarter. This compares with 30 996 mtu in the June quarter and 26 903 mtu in the March quarter. Production in tonnes grew from 41 t in the June and March quarters to 49 t in the period under review.

The higher production by ASX- and Aim-listed company comes at a time of a significantly stronger market for tungsten, with prices having risen rapidly in the last few months as a result of supply constraints out of China and continued growth of end-user markets, particularly in the US. The ammonium paratungstate price published by London Metal Bulletin had increased during the quarter to a three-year high of more than $310/mtu in September, before stabilising at $280/mtu in early October. The average price in the September quarter was $265/mtu, up from $216/mtu in the June quarter.

Wolf managed to take advantage of the strong market for tungsten and posted revenue of A$78-million. At the end of the quarter, the company had A$4.7-million cash and recently had arranged for a further loan of A$16.90-million (£10-million) to support revenue.

The turnaround plan, which was announced September, is aimed at achieving a sustainable production platform by the end of the year. It focuses on improving the processing plant reliability in the crushing circuit, improving the performance of the refinery to enhance production levels and reducing noise emissions from the processing plant, including low frequency noise.

Wolf reported that it had completed the improvements in the primary dense media separation circuit and the first phase of the refinery during the September quarter. The turnaround plan also delivered improved performance in planned maintenance activities and shutdown planning, supply chain management and critical spares inventories, employee training and standard operating procedures.

“We are on track to address our remaining operational challenges and achieve a sustainable production platform upon which to pursue further optimisation and value-adding initiatives,” Lucas reported.

The Hemerdon project has continuously experienced reliability and performance issues with the ramp-up of the processing plant, and the progress towards steady-state production has been delayed.