Achieves Nameplate SXEW Production at Kipoi
Perth, Oct 7, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Tiger Resources Limited (
ASX:TGS) is pleased to announce that the solvent-extraction and electro-winning (SXEW) plant at its Kipoi Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has achieved nameplate production of copper cathode.
The Company achieved the milestone of nameplate production during August, producing 2,015 tonnes of copper metal operating at 97% of nameplate design for the month, while in September 2,104 tonnes of copper metal were produced operating at 101% of nameplate.
Tiger's Managing Director Brad Marwood said the achievement of nameplate production within 11 weeks of start-up was an outstanding performance and confirms the capabilities of the operating team and management at the Kipoi Copper Project.
"With the SXEW now achieving production expectations we will focus on cathode production as the commercial returns are significantly superior to those associated with concentrate production. Planning for the transition to 100% cathode production has commenced."
Tiger expects the plant to produce 14,000 tonnes of copper cathode this calendar year, and 25,000 tonnes of cathode in its first full 12 months of commercial production. Further details of the activities during the September quarter will be presented in the quarterly report to be issued later in October.
BACKGROUND
The Kipoi Copper Project is located approximately 75km NNW of Lubumbashi in the Katanga Province of the DRC. Tiger has a 60% interest in La Société d'Exploitation de Kipoi SPRL (SEK), a DRC-registered company which holds the project assets and is the operator at Kipoi. Tiger has entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 40% interest from its joint venture partner, Gecamines.
Tiger undertook a phased development at Kipoi. Its Stage 2 SXEW plant commenced production of copper cathode in May 2014. This first phase of the SXEW plant is expected to produce 25,000 tonnes of copper cathode in its first 12 months of commercial production. The Stage 1 heavy media separation (HMS) plant has been in production at Kipoi since 2011 and production is currently being phased out.
Stage 1 HMS operations have produced stockpiles with 159,600 tonnes of contained copper. These stockpiles are providing feed for the SXEW plant for the first three years of its operation.
The forecasted SXEW life of mine (LOM) site cash operating cost is $1.04/lb, and forecast LOM C3 cost (all-in cost, including capital expenditure) is US$1.75/lb.
It is envisaged that ore from Judeira and other deposits within the Kipoi Project area, and within the nearby 100%-owned Lupoto Project, will also be processed during the SXEW operations, providing additional returns and increasing the ore reserves available as feedstock to the SXEW plant. Increased resources from these deposits will potentially increase the mine life and/or the annual plant throughput. Further exploration, evaluation and other testing will be required to determine the proportion, if any, of ore from these deposits that may ultimately be available as feed for the SXEW plant.
About Tiger Resources Limited
Tiger Resources Limited (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.
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