JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The turnaround plan that dual-listed Wolf Resources implemented at its Drakelands tungsten/tin mine, in south-west England, has provided improved production and sales in the six months ended December 2017.
In its interim report, published on Wednesday, the Australia domiciled company said that increased operating time allowed for greater understanding of the processing plant operating performance and the ore feed blending requirements.
The plant treated 959 958 t of ore and produced 79 099 metric tonne units (mtu) of tungsten concentrate in the period under review. Production increased by 36% and sales by 37% on the previous period on an equivalent operating basis.
This led to revenue increasing from $10.94-million in the six months ended December 2016, to $23.12-million in the six months under review, and allowed the company to take advantage or higher tungsten prices. The average price for ammonium paratungstate (APT) was 32% higher at $272/mtu in the half-year. Subsequent to the period end, the APT price has risen to $319/mtu.
Wolf narrowed its loss to $35.42-million, from $37.69-million a year earlier.
The major activities within the operating turnaround plan were largely completed by the end of the period, with only two more outstanding items in the refinery and gravity fines to be implemented.