Canadian company Trigon Metals confirmed 5 October that it shipped first copper concentrate from its Kombat mine in Namibia on 29 September.
President and CEO Jed Richardson said that the achievement represents the start of cash flow for the company from the operation.
During the month of September, mining operations continued to perform well, providing a consistent plant feed averaging 1.2% copper in line with the mine plan. The Kombat mill operated 23 days in September at an average daily throughput of 718 tonnes per day, corresponding to 72% capacity.
By the end of September production ramped up to strong with steady operation consistently above 95% capacity from September 16 onwards. The company is on track to declare commercial production in the second week of October.
Copper recoveries averaged 80.5% for the month. As production settled into steady operation from mid-September, the mill has achieved recoveries of 84.8%, in line with projected recoveries of 85.0%.
A total of 470 tonnes of concentrate was produced in September with an average concentrate grade of 35.3% copper and 345 g/t of silver. To date, 101 tonnes have been shipped and shipments continue as finished concentrate at site has begun to overwhelm onsite storage facilities.
Source: Trigon Metals