LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares dropped in Cradle Arc PLC on Tuesday as it reduced its production forecast for the third quarter of 2018, and placed its target for the second half of 2018 under review, due to continued interruptions at the Mowana copper mine in Botswana.
Shares in the Africa-focused precious metals miner fell 22% to 2.44 pence on Tuesday.
At the end of August, Cradle Arc said its production target of 4,000 tonnes of copper from Mowana for the second half of 2018 would be more weighted towards the fourth quarter, with around 1,000 tonnes expected in the third quarter.
However, the company said on Tuesday it has experienced additional processing interruptions due to further equipment breakdowns, as well as a delay in the delivery of a new part for the primary crusher hydraulic power pack at the plant, affecting the processing of ore.
As a result, production for the third quarter is expected to be 10% to 20% lower than the previous forecast, and the second half target is currently under review, dependent on higher plant availability for processing operations being achieved.
"In spite of the continued sporadic interruptions being experienced at the Mowana processing plant, we have made good progress with our open pit mining activities with a large amount of waste stripping completed in order to lay the groundwork for a strong period of ore delivery going forward," said Chief Executive Officer Kevin van Wouw.
"Whilst production during Q3 has been disappointing and our overall production guidance for H2 2018 is under review, we are working hard to get Mowana on a sound and sustainable footing for what could potentially be decades of production, given the recent renewal of our permits along strike to the north of the open pit," Wouw added.
