Copper360 said yesterday that underground mining operations have commenced at its Rietberg mine in the Northern Cape.
In June, Copper360 CEO Jan Nelson said current operations were already “generating positive cash flow, building up to almost R40 million (and) in the next two months to R40m to R50m of revenue” inflows. The commencement of underground mining operations at the Rietberg mine was being seen as a major boost to the company’s production profile.
“Production has started with a target for the first month of 12 000 tons per month is being targeted at copper grades of 1.6% Cu in situ that will increase over four months to 45 000 tons per month as the second concentrator plant the company is constructing is commissioned in the next two months,” said Copper 360.
Nelson, described the kick-starting of mining activities at Rietberg as “an exciting moment” for the company. He said this was a “culmination of several years of planning”, and signalled “the beginnings of a new era” for the Northern Cape.
“This achievement is a credit to our executive and management and the grit and determination of the Namaqualand people that come from the communities in the area who form part of our Copper 360 team,” he said.
Copper 360 is targeting plant recoveries of 75% to 85% during start-up of the mine although previous test work had reported recoveries of 92% as being possible.
Ore from the mine was being processed at the Nama Copper Modular Floatation Plant recently acquired from Mazule Resources.
Nelson added that production at the mine transitions the company from only producing copper plate to predominantly producing copper concentrate.
This was a significant development for the company as 80% of its revenue will be generated from copper concentrate “significantly growing the cash margin” of the company.
“It is also testament to our chairman, Shirley Hayes, for having the foresight to identify that copper would become a critical future metal and then the determination to procure the mineral area and develop it over a period of 16 years,” Nelson said.
However, there is still “loads of work to do” for the company, Nelson said in June.
“The coming year is about leveraging the money that we’ve spent, generating that cash, and then we will grow organically from that point onwards,” he said at an investor presentation.
Part of the work for Copper 360 has to do with lowering costs. For the year to end February, 2024 costs in the company rose from R113.9 million to R167m.
Production costs however stayed fairly stable, with the main increase coming from a 27% rise in payroll expenses.
Travel, accommodation, and consulting fees were also significantly up during the period, with travelling costs surging 424% to R7.3m.
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