21st Jan 2016 07:00
21 January 2016
Weatherly International plc
("Weatherly" or "the Company")
Quarterly Operations and Production Update
Weatherly International plc (AIM: WTI) announces its quarterly update for the quarter ending 31 December 2015, being the second quarter of the financial year ending 30 June 2016.
Highlights
· Tschudi achieved nameplate production rates of 17,000 tonnes per annum during December 2015, with production for that month of 1,420 tonnes of copper cathode.
· First quarter of Commercial Production at Tschudi delivered production of 4,076 tonnes or 96 per cent of nameplate.
· C1 costs for Tschudi for the quarter were US$4080 per tonne, well below recent guidance of US$4250-4350 per tonne.
· Mr Peter Christians commenced work on site as Tschudi General Manager.
Craig Thomas, CEO of Weatherly, commented:
"Last year was one of significant operational progress for Weatherly and we are very pleased to continue our track record of meeting or beating guidance at Tschudi, with the operation proceeding well and in line with our plans.
"I am delighted that, as promised in July, Weatherly is now operating a new mine producing 17,000 tonnes per year of high grade copper cathode in the best mining jurisdiction in Africa."
Tschudi
Production performance
Production results for the second quarter of the financial year 2016
Quarter ended Mar-15 | Quarter ended Jun-15 | Quarter ended Sep-15 | Quarter ended Dec-15 | |
Total (Ore + Waste) Mined (000 tonnes) | 3,327 | 5,741 | 6,282 | 6,489 |
Ore Tonnes stacked (000 tonnes) | 460 | 637 | 821 | 772 |
Ore Stacked grade (per cent) | 0.53 | 0.61 | 0.73 | 0.83
|
Copper Cathode Produced (tonnes) | 772 (6 weeks) | 2,257 | 3,554 | 4,076 |
In October, the Company increased its production guidance for CY2015 by 4 per cent to 10,400 tonnes of copper cathode. This guidance has been exceeded by a further 2 per cent to reach 10,659 tonnes produced in CY2015.
The Company is also pleased to confirm that the Tschudi project achieved nameplate production rates of 17,000 tonnes per annum during December, with monthly production of 1,420 tonnes of copper cathode. This result is consistent with guidance first provided in May, and maintained since that time.
With Commercial Production achieved from 1 October 2015, Tschudi has now operated commercially for a full quarter. C1 costs for that quarter were US$4080 per tonne, well below our most recent guidance of US$4250-4350 per tonnes for the current full financial year.
The Company is also pleased to announce that Mr Peter Christians has commenced work on site as the new General Manager for Tschudi in early December, further strengthening the management team at the operation.
Finally, the Company also announces that Mr Ray Jenner, the representative of Orion Mine Finance (Orion) on the Company's Board will be resigning due to his retirement. Orion have advised the Company that a replacement will be appointed to ensure continuity of support. As a result, Mr Jenner will no longer be standing for re-election at Weatherly's upcoming AGM.
For further information please contact:
Weatherly International plc +44 (0) 20 7936 9910
Craig Thomas, Chief Executive Officer
Kevin Ellis, CFO and Company Secretary
RFC Ambrian Limited +44 (0) 20 3440 6800
(Nominated Adviser & Broker)
Samantha Harrison / Kim Eckhof
Finncap +44 (0) 20 7220 0500
(Joint Broker)
Christopher Raggett
Blytheweigh +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
(Financial PR) Tim Blythe / Camilla Horsfall / Megan Ray
About Weatherly
Weatherly is an AIM listed copper mining company operating in Namibia in southern Africa. Its principal assets are one operating open pit copper mine called Tschudi and two underground copper projects called Otjihase and Matchless.
These assets will enable Weatherly to achieve its medium term goal of establishing a mining business capable of sustaining approximately 25,000 tonnes per annum of copper production.
The Company also has a 25 per cent stake in the AIM listed company, China Africa Resources plc (AIM: CAF), which is developing a lead/zinc mine called Berg Aukas, also in Namibia.
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