SYDNEY (miningweekly.com) – Base metals developer Blackthorn Resources has pushed back the first expected shipment from its Perkoa mine, in Burkina Faso, from the third quarter of this year to the fourth quarter.
The ASX-listed miner said on Thursday that production at the zinc mine had been affected by unplanned downtime caused by pump blockages and alarms on the ball mill gearbox and lubrication system.
The major delay related to problems with the power plant generator sets, which Blackthorn said, suffered from intermittent trips resulting in the shutdown of the concentrator plant each time the plant tripped.
The miner said the power problems have now been rectified, adding that plant performance was steadily improving, with the commissioning of the plant now entering its final stages.
Ore throughput and concentrate quality were also approaching design specifications for a single ball mill operation.
The second ball mill was expected on site in June, with the installation and commissioning expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of the calendar year, enabling ramp-up to the one-million-ton-a-year throughput capacity.
Meanwhile, Blackthorn and joint venture partner Glencore were keeping a close eye on the performance of the mine and the impact of commodity prices on the mine’s performance and budget.
In January, Glencore revised the cost estimate for the project to some $260-million, agreeing to provide up to $180-million for the project.