FQM.L Regulatory News (FQM)

9 Feb 2005 07:00

First Quantum Minerals Ld09 February 2005 NEWS RELEASE 05-01 February 8, 2005 www.first-quantum.com FIRST QUANTUM MINERALS ANNOUNCES EXPANDED MINE PLAN FOR KANSANSHI -KANSANSHI ANNUAL COPPER PRODUCTION TO GROW TO 145,000 TONNES BY 2006- (All figures expressed in US dollars) First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSX Symbol "FM", LSE Symbol "FQM") is pleased toprovide a new expanded five year mine plan for the Company's Kansanshi Minelocated in the North Western Province of Zambia. The Kansanshi Mine iscurrently being commissioned with commercial production anticipated to begin inMarch 2005. The five year plan has been independently reviewed by AR Cameron &Associates of Perth, Australia in an Operations Review dated January 2005. EXPANDED FIVE YEAR MINE PLAN (detailed statistics are available atwww.first-quantum.com) Units 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Scenario* (4O+4S) (4O+8S) (4O+8S) (4O+8S) (4O+8S) Copper in Concentrate tonnes 48,155 76,706 91,868 72,539 60,500Copper in Cathodes tonnes 42,845 70,862 71,489 71,109 69,461Total Copper Produced tonnes 91,000 147,568 163,357 143,648 129,961 Gold Produced ounces 36,022 50,686 59,748 44,651 41,318 * O = million tonnes of oxide ore, S = million tonnes of sulphide ore The average C1 costs over the first 5 years of copper production at the expandedlevel as confirmed by AR Cameron, is $0.45/lb. The increase in cost, comparedto the GRD Minproc Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) dated December 2003, inwhich an average C1 cost of $0.38 was estimated, is mainly attributable to theincreased volumes of copper in concentrate produced under the revised plan andgeneral increases in consumable costs. Philip Pascall, Chairman and CEO commented, "We have chosen to expand theoriginal design of the Kansanshi processing plant in order to maximize copperproduction during the current period of favorable copper prices. As a result,we expect the Kansanshi mine to produce exceptional economic returns for FirstQuantum shareholders, our partner Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines and thepeople of the North Western Province of Zambia." CHRONOLOGY OF KANSANSHI CONSTRUCTION The original DFS for Kansanshi envisioned the treatment of 4 million tonnes ofoxide ore and 2 million tonnes of sulphide ore (4O+2S) to produce an average of100,000 tonnes of finished copper production per year. Capital additions carried out to the sulphide milling circuit during initialconstruction at Kansanshi will double name plate throughput of sulphide ore to 4million tonnes per year (4O+4S). This will result in copper concentrateproduction substantially outperforming the DFS forecasts in 2005 when anaggregate production of 91,000 tonnes is planned. In addition, a $29 million capital program committed in 2005 will expand thesulphide circuit again to eight million tonnes of treatment capacity (4O+8S)which will result in an average of 145,000 tonnes of finished copper productionper year during the period of 2006-2009. Final capital costs for the expandedproject will be reported in due course. Finally, an additional expansion of the sulphide circuit is under considerationfor 2008 to increase the sulphide treatment capacity to 12 million tonnes ofsulphide ore (4Ox12S) to maintain annual finished copper production of 145,000tonnes as oxide ore is depleted and sulphide ore grades begin to fall. On Behalf of the Board of Directors 12g3-2b-82-4461of First Quantum Minerals Ltd. Listed in Standard and Poor's"G. Clive Newall" Sedar Profile #00006237G. Clive NewallPresident For further information visit our web site at www.first-quantum.com United Kingdom contact: Clive Newall, President1st Floor, Mill House Mill Bay Lane Horsham West Sussex RH12 1TQ United Kingdom Tel: +44 140 327 3484 Fax: +44 140 327 3494 E-Mail: clive.newall@first-quantum.com. or Carina Corbett, 4C Communications Ltd, Tel: + 44 20 7907 4761 North American contact: Geoff Chater or Bill Iversen Suite 450-800 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 2V6 Tel: (604) 688-6577 Fax: (604) 688-3818 Toll Free: 1 (888) 688-6577 E-Mail: info@first-quantum.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange