JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed London Mining lifted iron-ore output at its Marampa mine, in Sierra Leone, by 36% quarter-on-quarter to 963 000 t in the three months ended June.

This was compared with the 706 000 t produced in the previous quarter.

Sales volumes for the quarter improved by 72% quarter-on-quarter to 1.01-million tons, compared with the 589 000 t sold in the March quarter.

“We have made excellent progress at Marampa in the last few months. The second plant ramp-up was completed six weeks ahead of schedule and a solid production performance from both plants allows us to move to the higher end of [our] production guidance for the year,” CEO Graeme Hossie said in a statement on Thursday.

The iron-ore miner’s production guidance for the year was set at between 3.5-million and 3.9-million tons, while its sales volumes guidance was set at between 3.9-million and 4.1-million tons.

London Mining indicated that planned upgrades to plant capacity to achieve production from the gravity circuit and ball mills would be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, with the mine to reach a five-million-ton-a-year run rate by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the Pride of Marampa floating offshore transshipment platform and the floating crane transshipment unit were now fully operational.

London Mining also reported that its annualised export volumes for the quarter increased to in excess of four-million tons following the arrival of the first self-propelled barge (SPB) in April.

A second SPB arrived at the site in June and barging capacity would continue to be upgraded as production volumes increase.

“We have made significant improvements to our logistics capability, with the increased barging and transshipment capacity resulting in a 72% increase in export volumes and a reduction in ocean-going freight costs.

“Our focus on continuous improvement across the business is delivering operating efficiencies and cost reductions as we target operating costs below $50/t,” Hossie said.

London Mining expected the upgraded transshipment capacity to deliver lower seaborne freight costs for the remainder of this year, with further freight savings to be achieved once the loading of larger vessels starts.

GMP Securities said in a note to clients that it regarded the iron-ore miner’s results as positive, with clear signs of improvement at the Marampa mine in recent months. “Production was extremely strong and sales were slightly above our forecasts with freight costs in line and sales prices slightly above.”

Credit Suisse added in a separate note to its clients that it expected London Mining’s shares to outperform given the recent weakness in its share price.

London Mining’s share price on the Aim reached a high of 99.68p a share on Thursday, up 13.92% on Wednesday’s close of 87.5p a share.