JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Increased groundwater inflow rates have hampered production at the Tschudi openpit copper mine, in Namibia, in the quarter ended June 30.
Aim-listed Weatherly International on Friday said the groundwater inflow rates had surpassed the levels forecast in the operation’s bankable feasibility study, necessitating the design, procurement and commissioning of additional groundwater management systems and infrastructure.
“Expertise and equipment have been procured to resolve the issue and full production rates are expected to resume before the end of the 2016 calendar year,” explained Weatherly CEO Craig Thomas.
During the quarter ended June 30, Tschudi’s copper cathode production reached 3 812 t – 10% below target rates of 4 250 t per quarter. The C1 costs rose to $4 689/t in response to the reduced production and actions taken to manage the groundwater inflow.
“Current expectations are for production levels in the September 2016 quarter to be approximately 15% below nameplate. Production is then expected to return to design rates by the end of the December 2016 quarter,” he added.
The copper mining company said the C1 costs for the nine months to June 30 had, however, remained below guidance at $4 199/t.
Further, Weatherly expects to achieve production of 17 000 t of copper cathode for the year ended June 30, 2017, with forecast C1 unit costs expected to be in the range of $4 100/t to $4 200/t.
Meanwhile, Dr Wolf Martinick and Charilaos Stavrakis retired from the board and, in an effort to reduce costs, will not be replaced in the near term.