Rambler Metals and Mining plc (AIM: RMM) (“Rambler” or the “Company”), a copper and gold producer, explorer, and developer, is pleased to announce that for the fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2019′
It achieved record throughput by processing 98,411 tonnes of ore from the Ming Mine through the Nugget Pond copper and gold milling facility. This supported a 47% increase in saleable copper produced in concentrate and 70% increase in saleable gold produced in concentrate relative to the year-ago quarter.
Q1 2019 PRODUCTION SUMMARY
· The mining process improvement program begun in late Q2 2018 has resulted in:
o Consistently higher ore production rate in Q1 2019 vs Q1 2018 (1,157 dry tonnes per day vs 965 dry tonnes per day), representing a 20% improvement.
o Consistently higher copper contained in ore in Q1 2019 vs Q1 2018 (16.3 dry tonnes per day vs 12.8 dry tonnes per day), representing a 27% improvement.
o Consistently higher development rounds per week – 23 per week in Q1 2019 versus 12 per week in Q1 2018, representing a 92% improvement. The higher development rate has led to the best developed state of the mine since the expansion project began in 2016.
· For the fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2019 the Nugget Pond copper and gold milling facility achieved record throughput. The facility processed 98,411 dmt at a feed grade of 1.33% copper and 0.58 grammes per tonne gold during Q1 2019 vs 83,016 tonnes at a feed grade of 1.07% copper and 0.41 grammes per tonne gold in Q1 2018. Daily production during the quarter averaged 1,266 dry tonnes per day with a monthly peak of 1,309 dry tonnes per day in February. On March 12, the mill achieved a one-day record throughput of 1,492 dry tonnes per day. This is another significant milestone for the Company and confirms that the mill improvements will allow the facility to produce at a sustained rate at or greater than 1,250 dry tonnes per day.
· Recovery of metal to concentrate was 96.3% and 69.4% for copper and gold respectively for the quarter, nearly unchanged from Q1 2018 despite higher throughput
· During the quarter, the operation produced 4,797 tonnes of concentrate containing saleable metal of 1,207 tonnes of copper and 1,128 ounces of gold. Saleable tonnes of copper increased 47% from Q1 2018 and ounces of gold increased 70% from the Q1 2018.
Andre Booyzen, President and CEO, commented:
“This last quarter’s mine and mill performance has demonstrated the improvements we anticipated when beginning the mining process improvement project in the second quarter of last year. Our staff and contractors are focussed on continuing to produce safely and to meet production targets. Not only has the average daily performance improved, but the day-to-day variability has decreased due to our success at reducing mining interruptions such as power outages, ventilation interruptions, blasting misfires and secondary blasts, as well as to improving the skills and supervisory expertise of our people.
“Our focus is on continuing to improve mining productivity and the average grade of ore produced so that saleable copper production continues to increase. The recent private placement by major shareholders and the positive take-up of the share offering by minority holders have put us in a strong financial position.
“We have started work on our new tailings facility and intend to have it completed by Q4 2019, after which it will support production for 6 years. The tailings project includes some critical control components necessary to sustain milling rates in excess of 1,400 dry tonnes per day. We have also committed to replacing some key mining equipment that has reached the end of their useful life, as well as adding to our underground fleet to reflect longer hauls as we mine deeper.
“I am delighted to report in this, my first quarterly production commentary, that we have the right operational teams in place at the Ming mine and Nugget Pond mill to reach our production targets and they are ably supported by our executives and board managers.”
Full RNS Update Link HERE
ABOUT RAMBLER METALS AND MINING
Rambler is a mining and development company that in November 2012 brought its first mine into commercial production. Rambler has a 100 per cent ownership in the Ming Copper-Gold Mine, a fully operational base and precious metals processing facility and year-round bulk storage and shipping facility; all located on the Baie Verte peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Following the completion of its recent productivity improvement initiative Rambler’s focus is on sustaining mine and mill production at 1,250 metric tonnes per day. With a return to profitability and positive cash flow, Rambler will continue advancing Phase III engineering studies with a view to further increase production to 2,000 dry tonnes per day at the Ming Mine.
Along with the Ming Mine, Rambler also owns 100 per cent of the former producing Little Deer/ Whales Back copper mines and has strategic investment in the former producing Hammerdown gold mine.
