Kipoi Copper Project - Production Update
Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States
ASX Code: TGS
TSX Code: TGS
PERTH, Western Australia, Oct. 19, 2011 /CNW/ - Tiger Resources Limited
('Tiger' or 'the Company') is pleased to provide a production update for September 2011 from its high-grade Kipoi Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).The heavy media separation (HMS) plant at Kipoi processed 63,674 tonnes of ore grading 5.5% copper, to produce 11,040 tonnes of concentrate. The copper recovery rate of 64.9% achieved for September was a marked improvement from the rate of 47.6% for August, and well above the processing target for the month.
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| MONTHLY PRODUCTION SUMMARY SEPTEMBER 2011 |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
|Production Statistics | |September|September|
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| | | Budget | Actual |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
|Mining | | | |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| Ore Mined |tonnes| 75,060 | 73,711 |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
|ROM Stockpile | | | |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| High Grade Copper Stockpile |tonnes| 52,951 |274,4851 |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| High GradeCopper Stockpile |grade | 6.66% | 4.48% |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
|Processing | | | |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| Plant Feed |tonnes| 75,000 | 63,674 |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| Cu Recovery | rate | 55.0% | 64.9% |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| Concentrate Produced |tonnes| 11,204 | 11,040 |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| Contained Copper in Concentrate |tonnes| 2,801 | 2,264 |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
|Sales | | | |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| Concentrate Sold |tonnes| 10,065 | 7,970 |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
| Revenue|$'000 | $13,770 | $5,0712 |
|__________________________________________________|______|_________|_________|
Notes: (1) The forecast assumed that mining of ore would commence
in the month prior to production commencing and that all
ore is processed as HMS feed in the month mined. Actual
mining of ore commenced in April 2011 and currently
represents over 3 months of ore available as HMS feed.
(2) Revenue is the payable value of the contained Cu in the
concentrate sold at the provisional selling price, adjusted
to the mark-to-market or fixed price at the end of the
reporting period.
Managing Director Brad Marwood said: 'I am impressed with the demonstrated improvement in efficiency, which reflects that the operating team is well on track with our plans to drive the plant towards its nameplate capacity.'
'In addition, we had 4,333 tonnes of DMS and spiral concentrates stockpiled ready for delivery at the end of the month, representing 953 tonnes of contained copper available for immediate sale.'
Plant throughput for September was at 85% of nameplate capacity, despite overall availability being only 71% after the impact of an unplanned three-day shut-down caused by a gearbox failure on the scrubber.
Mr Marwood said the mining schedule was being revised.
'With three months of ore on the ROM stockpile available as plant feed, we have decided to reduce the rate of ore mining and increase the waste mined,' he said.
'This will help us to ensure that Stage 2 of the Kipoi Central pit is mined down to the ore-bearing material by August 2012, when mining of Stage 1 of the pit is planned to finish.'
Sales of concentrate for September were made to local smelters in the DRC, where very competitive commercial rates are currently achievable for the average 20.3% Cu grade concentrate product sold. Tiger's policy is to fix the price of sales to eliminate pricing risk over the quotational period.
BACKGROUND
The Kipoi Project covers an area of 55 square kms and is located 75km north‐north‐west of the city of Lubumbashi in the Katanga Province of the DRC. The project contains a 12km sequence of mineralised Roan sediments that host at least five known deposits: Kipoi Central, Kipoi North, Kileba, Judeira and Kaminafitwe.
The Company has reported JORC-standard resources at three of the deposits. The principal deposit is Kipoi Central, which contains a zone of high grade copper mineralisation within a much larger lower grade global resource.
The Company has adopted a staged development approach at the Kipoi Project. The high grade zone of mineralisation at Kipoi Central is being exploited during the Stage 1 development. During the three-year operation of Stage 1, 900,000tpa of 7% Cu is planned to be processed through the HMS plant with a recovery rate of 60%, to produce the equivalent of approximately 35,000tpa of copper.
The Company is currently undertaking a feasibility study to evaluate the economic viability of constructing a SXEW plant (Stage 2), targeted to come onstream within three years of the start of the HMS operation. It is envisaged that ore from Kipoi Central, Kipoi North and Kileba South and the other deposits within the Kipoi Project and within the nearby Lupoto Project would be processed during the Stage 2 phase.
Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements: The forward-looking statements made in this news release are based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events and results. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the actual market prices of copper, cobalt and silver, the actual results of current exploration, the actual results of future mining, processing and development activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's filed documents.
Tiger Resources Limited
CONTACT:
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| Brad Marwood | Stephen Hills | Nathan Ryan
|
|___________________________|_________________________|____________________
____|
| Managing Director | Chief Financial Officer | Investor
Relations |
|___________________________|_________________________|____________________
____|
| Tel: ( 61 8) 61882001 | Tel: ( 61 8) 61882002 |Tel: ( 61 3 ) 9622
2159 |
|___________________________|_________________________|____________________
____|
|Email: bmarwood@tigerez.com|Email: shills@tigerez.com|Email:
nryan@tigerez.com|
|___________________________|_________________________|____________________
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Company website: www.tigerresources.com.au
