Kenmare sees Moma Mine production fall

Irish mining company Kenmare said final output for January was lower than expected after poor weather conditions and problems in the mining path caused a delay in production at the Moma Mine on the coast of Mozambique.

These factors have also continued to adversely affect February production, meaning that overall the Moma Mine produced 116,500 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate during January and February 2012. From this, the mineral separation plant produced 76,500 tonnes of ilmenite and 7,100 tonnes of zircon.

Mining rates during January and some of February were adversely affected by a clay rich ore band in the mine path. In order to minimise the impact of the clay rich ore on mine production of heavy mineral concentrate, a 500 tonnes per hour (tph) supplementary dry-mining operation was commissioned and is being ramped-up to 1,000 tph. All the components to complete this process are on site and ramp-up will continue during March.

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In order to ensure the optimal product mix and maximise revenues in a very positive market, a further supplementary dry-mining operation will be established for an additional 1,000 tph later this year. These supplementary dry-mining operations represent an interim solution to varying mining conditions.

During cyclone season Kenmare opted to shut down the plants as the cyclones approached, which resulted in some operational downtime. Voltage stabilisation equipment to deal the majority of grid power fluctuations is available on the market and Kenmare is reviewing options to further stabilise the electricity supply.

"With the approaching end of the cyclone season and as supplementary dry-mining operations continue to ramp-up, Kenmare expects to return to more normal levels of production over the coming weeks," the firm said.

NR