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LONDON (Alliance News) - Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd said Tuesday it more than doubled the number of concentrates sold at its Gakara project in Burundi in the three months ended June compared to the previous quarter.
Shares in Rainbow Rare Earths were down 11% Tuesday at 12.56 pence each.
Rainbow Rare Earths sold 350 tonnes of concentrate in the three months ended June compared to 125 tonnes sold in the previous three months.
The rare earth element mining company did have a drop in the realised sales price of 5%, however. The realised sales price fell to USD2,229 per tonne from USD2,357 per tonnes.
The company said the fall was due to a 4% dip in the average basket price. The cost of sales - which includes transportation, handling, marketing and government royalties - decreased to USD517 per tonne from USD644 per tonne the previous quarter.
The decrease reflects that the number of tonnes sold was greater than that number exported in the quarter.
The number of tonnes of concentrate that was produced an exported increased 10% in the quarter to 275 tonnes, from 250 tonnes.
Rainbow Rare Earths said both mine and concentrate production were impacted in the quarter due to heavier than average rainfall in April and the precautionary measure to stand down operations around the Burundi referendum May 17.
Chief Executive Officer Martin Eales said: "A 180% increase in tonnes of concentrate sold from the previous quarter is a clear indication that there is strong demand for our Gakara concentrate which is currently the only rare earths production from Africa.
"Having implemented an upgraded mine plan at Gasagwe towards the end of the quarter we saw mining rates improve significantly in June, and we anticipate seeing an increase in concentrate production by 50-100% on a monthly basis over the next quarter. As a result, production costs will fall considerably in the next 6 months as we approach our target of 400 tonnes per month by the end of the year.
"I am also proud to report that in June we reached the milestone of 1 million Lost Time Injury-free man hours since operations commenced at Gakara in March 2017 which is testament to our fantastic team on the ground."