Tiger Resources Limited Record Kipoi Production in May
11.06.2015 | ABN Newswire
Perth, Australia (ABN Newswire) - Tiger Resources Ltd. (ASX:TGS) ("Tiger") is pleased to provide an update on the operating performance of the solvent-extraction and electro-winning (SXEW) plant at its Kipoi Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following completion of the first 12 months of cathode production.The SXEW plant was commissioned in May 2014, ramp-up of production to the 25,000tpa nameplate design capacity was achieved by August 2014, and since then the plant has continued to demonstrate its ability to produce LME Grade A equivalent quality cathode consistently at or above budgeted rates of production.
May 2015 has returned a record plant output, with 2,306 tonnes of copper cathode produced for the month.
Kipoi operating initiatives
Having operated the SXEW plant for 12 months now, the operations team at Kipoi has identified areas where the plant can be debottlenecked to increase production and reduce operating costs.
These initiatives will be assessed with a view to being rolled out over the next 12 months and include:
1. Minimising material rehandling by utilising the overland conveyor from the former HMS plant to the agglomerator
2. Utilising available current to the electro-winning circuit through addition of extra electro-winning cells
3. Bringing forward the HMS fines delivery through the addition of a small (40t/h) modular tank leach.
Tiger believes the combination of items 2 and 3 alone could increase monthly production by as much as 30% for a very modest capital outlay, and the debottlenecking initiatives are both complementary and independent of any potential future expansion of operations at Kipoi from the current 25Ktpa copper cathode operation.
The Kipoi operating team is now realising the price benefits resulting from the growing supply of sulphuric acid available in the Southern African markets. Sulphuric acid is the principal reagent used to irrigate the heap leach pads and is the second largest component of processing costs at Kipoi. Whereas 2015 budgets were set using US$365/t as the assumed price for acid, long-term contracts have recently been entered into for delivery at a cost of ~US$235/t. The future price of sulphuric acid remains under significant downward pressure.
During May 2015 Tiger energised the recently installed 30MVA transformer, which is now being run up to provide grid power to Kipoi. This is a key milestone amongst a number of power supply initiatives Tiger is currently implementing, in order to access continuous grid supply from the second half of 2015 onwards in line with market guidance.
About Tiger Resources Limited:
Tiger Resources Ltd. (ASX:TGS) has established itself as a producing copper/cobalt company with excellent growth potential after making the transition from an explorer. We have a highly-rated portfolio of properties, all strategically located on the world renowned Katanga Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), central Africa.
Contact:
Tiger Resources Ltd.
Brad Marwood, Managing Director
Tel: (+61 8) 6188 2000
Email: bmarwood@tigerez.com
Stephen Hills, Finance Director
Tel: (+61 8) 6188 2000
Email: shills@tigerez.com
Nathan Ryan, Investor Relations
Tel: (+61 0)420 582 887
Email: nryan@tigerez.com