African Copper turnaround steams ahead

Staff Writer | Tuesday April 29, 2014 12:45

The company, which is listed in both the Botswana Stock Exchange and London’s AIM said its production of saleable copper concentrate increased 4.8 percent to 9.95 billion tonnes for the twelve months ended March 31 from 9.50 billion tonnes the previous year.

The once troubled junior continues to dig its way out of the doldrums after being haunted by operational challenges in the past five years. The company added that copper produced in concentrates during its fourth quarter increased 3.5 percent on the previous year to 2.52 billion tonnes from 2.43 billion tonnes.

However, African Copper said its ore processed during the fourth quarter fell 0.7 percent to 163.39 billion tonnes from 164.59 billion tonnes and overall concentrate produced fell 12.4 percent to 9.94 billion tonnes from 11.36 billion tonnes as the company was hit by poor availability of equipment and high levels of rain.

The company said the decline in ore processed during the quarter was offset by higher-grade ore from its Thakadu Pit during January and March, and improved recoveries compared to the previous quarter. The firm added that it received a preliminary geotechnical report during March for the area north of its Mowana pit, with the results being factored into studies to assess the potential for developing an underground mine at the site. Last year, majority shareholder, ZCI suspended plans to divest from the Botswana based African Copper.

In a statement, the ZCI board announced that after a year of searching for a buyer, it had failed to get a suitable offer for African Copper. The failure was due to adverse global market conditions facing junior mining companies and a general increased risk aversion among investors as a result of economic uncertainty and volatility.

ZCI said it was continuing to work towards realising the full value of its investment in the Botswana-focused junior copper producer, and was encouraged by the operational performance and turnaround strategy implemented over the last year.