Arc Minerals upbeat on commissioning of Kalaba demonstration plant

(Sharecast News) - Arc Minerals reported on Monday that it had completed and successfully commissioned the Kalaba demonstration pilot plant, confirming the initial production of copper-cobalt sulphide concentrate.The AIM-traded firm said it was finalising detailed oxide resource tonnages, grades and mining plans in line with the completion of the block modelling of the overall oxide resource.It said the block model assessment of the ore body would provide the basis for a review of operational and mining strategy, including the cost benefit potential of upgrading the oxide ore feed into the plant aimed at materially reducing consumption of acid and related input costs.Initial production would incur no mining cost, the board said, as the plant feed would be drawn down from the existing stockpile of 10,000 tonnes at 2% copper.The potential to enhance revenue streams through the production of separate copper and cobalt sulphide precipitates was also being investigated."I am very pleased to report that we delivered on our commitment to complete the construction and commissioning of the small-scale demonstration pilot plant at Kalaba," said Arc Minerals executive chairman Nick von Schirnding."We have now completed the plant under budget - for less than half a million dollars."Von Schirnding said it was also an important step regarding Zamsort's previous commitments in terms of its exploration licenses."In the meantime, we have made major progress regarding our next phase of exploration and our newly identified targets."A more detailed update on this will be made shortly."