Canadian miner Trigon Metals has confirmed first copper concentrate from the Kombat mine in Namibia, putting the operation in an ideal position for its forecasted full commercial production declaration in March.
Trigon said the initial concentrates were produced on December 30, with crews working over the Christmas period to complete filter press installation and run ore through the full production process to achieve the milestone.
“The concentrate produced exceeded the expectations of management, demonstrating that the combination of new equipment from Xinhai and refurbished equipment from the historic operation are operating well,” the company said.
“The feed material for this initial production was suboptimal, lower grade ore, while grind size, residence times and reagent use are being optimized, but satisfactory copper grades were achieved approaching 20% copper and over 600 g/t silver, well ahead of expectation at this stage of start-up.”
The Kombat mine is targeting first concentrate shipments this month.
President and CEO Jed Richardson said the newest achievement of successful concentration is a major de-risking of the operation.
“A functioning mill is the primary technical hurdle in a mine’s operation, and that hurdle has been overcome at Kombat. I cannot overstate how proud I am of our team in reaching this goal; battling through shipping challenges, COVID-19 and working through the Christmas holidays,” he said.
Trigon owns an 80% interest in the Otavi Mountainlands operation.
Source: Trigon Metals