RE: RNS22 Oct 2020 08:06
Gati Al-Jebouri, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Pembridge said:
"This has been a quarter of continuing development at the Minto mine, with a second shipment of concentrate sent to its customer in Japan, opening up the Copper Keel area and drilling in Copper Keel West. The lower volume of concentrate produced in Q3 compared to Q2 was expected and is due to the processing of lower grade ore in Q3 (1.09%) compared to Q2 (1.32%), however I am pleased to report that Minto processed 176,151kMT of ore in Q3, some 4.4% higher than in Q2.
The expected lower grade of copper was primarily due to the ore mix including the final commercially viable tonnes from Minto East ore body, which is now expected to close by year end. In addition, a significant part of ore being sourced stemmed from the opening of the new Copper Keel ore body, which started in Q3 2020. It is expected that the copper grade will return to previous levels as the development of Copper Keel moves beyond the periphery of the ore body and into solely production ore.
The mine has benefited from the improved copper price and now has access to additional funding under the US$12.5 million prepayment facility with Sumitomo. After the challenges of operating through the worst of the Covid-19 crisis in Q2, although the issues are not all gone, we have much to feel optimistic about."