MMG Limited today reported its first quarter production results and update on its ramp up and commissioning at Las Bambas in Peru.
Las Bambas
Las Bambas produced 31,470* tonnes of copper in copper concentrate in the first quarter 2016. The result follows the Company’s announcement in January of its maiden shipment of approximately 10,000 tonnes from the Port of Matarani.
Chief Executive Officer Andrew Michelmore said Las Bambas was currently on track to achieve commercial production in the second half of 2016 and the site was now focused on a successful transition from the construction to the operational phase.
“This has been a year of milestones at Las Bambas and we are pleased to have completed construction. We have now transferred the concentrator plant from the construction to the operations team and are focusing on the commissioning of the molybdenum plant,” he said.
“We are also pleased to recently commence shipment of Las Bambas concentrate from the newly completed Berth F facilities, another key piece of infrastructure to support the operation,” he added.
MMG maintains its 2016 guidance at Las Bambas where it expects to produce 250,000-300,000** tonnes of copper in copper concentrate.
Once in full production Las Bambas will have an annual nameplate capacity throughput of 51.1 million tonnes and will rank as one of the top copper producing mines in the world.
First Quarter 2016 Production Highlights
Despite subdued global demand and lower copper prices, MMG’s copper assets delivered strong production results in the March quarter.
Kinsevere continued to deliver results above nameplate capacity producing 19,680 tonnes of copper cathode with Sepon producing 18,377 tonnes of copper cathode.
During the quarter MMG also completed final sales of lead and zinc concentrates produced from Century mine-sourced ore and from the Dugald River trial stoping ore.
Mr Michelmore said that the strengthening performance of zinc in the global market and tightening supply reaffirmed the Company’s commitment to the commodity.
“During this quarter zinc outperformed other base metals highlighting the deficit in the global zinc market. This highlights our commitment to the Dugald River project, which while still subject to financing, continued to advance with early works, in line with the updated development plan.”
Across all assets MMG’s expected production of 415,000-477,000 tonnes of copper and 120,000-135,000 tonnes of zinc remains unchanged.
Download a full copy of the 2016 March Quarterly Production Report – HERE.
* Includes production from commissioning and start up activities.
** Production volumes include expected pre and post-commercial production volumes at Las Bambas. The exact split will be determined prior to Las Bambas declaring commencement of commercial operations.