17:00 Thu 23 Jul 2020
W Resources PLC - June 2020 Quarterly Production Report
("W" or the "Company")
· A total of 253,256 tonnes ("t") of Run of Mine ("ROM") ore fed to the La Parrilla plant in Q2 2020.
· Total tungsten and tin contained metal production increased by 0.5% to 47.6 tonnes during the quarter, mostly as a result of strong tin recoveries.
· Tin ("Sn") metal production was the highlight increasing 65% to 20.0 dry metric tonnes ("dmt").
· Tungsten ("WO3") metal production decreased 17% to 2,756 metric tonne unit ("mtu") (27,560 kg) during the quarter as a result of the temporary mine closure and weaker than expected plant performance.
· Combined shipments of tungsten concentrate (58.9t) and tin concentrate (40.8t) increased to nearly 100t in Q2 2020, taking total shipments to offtake partners to 89.0t of tungsten concentrate and 40.8t of tin concentrate for the half year. A further 20.4t of tungsten concentrate and 39.0t of tin concentrate has been shipped from 1 July to date.
Production Summary
La Parrilla Production Summary | Q4 2019 | Q1 2020 | Q2 2020 | Var % |
ROM feed (wmt) | 113,322 | 273,656 | 253,256 | -7% |
Strip ratio | 0.56 | 1.07 | 0.58 | -46% |
Jig plant feed (dmt) | 105,579 | 240,926 | 228,060 | -5% |
Concentrator feed (dmt) | 32,042 | 98,726 | 129,021 | 31% |
WO3 concentrate (dmt) | 21.4 | 58.9 | 47.6 | -19% |
WO3 contained metal (mtu) | 968 | 3,306 | 2,756 | -17% |
Sn concentrate (dmt) | 7.9 | 23.3 | 41.2 | 77% |
Sn contained metal (dmt) | 3.9 | 12.1 | 20.0 | 65% |
Total concentrate (dmt) | 29.3 | 82.2 | 88.8 | 8% |
Total contained metal (dmt) | 13.6 | 45.2 | 47.6 | 5% |
Tungsten & Tin Shipments (t) | 9.1 | 30.1 | 99.7 | 231% |
('dmt' - dry metric tonnes, 'wmt' - wet metric tonnes, 'mtu' - metric tonne unit (1 mtu = 10kg of metal)
"Spanish operating capability has been substantially enhanced with experienced Director
"With a strengthened Spanish operations team, implementation of improvement programmes and advancement in metallurgical work to lift tungsten recoveries we now have the fundamentals in place to increase production."
Q2 2020 Overview
Q2 production was impacted by various factors and operationally the team has made good progress to mitigate this going forward.
· The Spanish State of Emergency shut down operations in April. The mine and main plant reopened in May under the continuing COVID-19 protocol and in the face of supply change logistics challenges that the Spanish industry has faced.
· Plant improvements made in order to rectify early-stage operational challenges at La Parrilla have been completed. This included several improvements to the jig plant and also replacement of the mill as a result of the vendor not providing fit for purpose plant and rolls.
· Operating costs were carefully managed throughout the quarter and further cost reductions have been implemented.
· The operational team has been strengthened with Director
· Significant new test work programmes have been completed to support decision making on improving tungsten recoveries.
· Whilst there were good tin recoveries the operational focus on tungsten recoveries is the key focus.
COVID-19 - Spanish State of Emergency
· The spread of COVID-19 has been controlled in
· The State of Emergency was lifted in
Operations
· Safety performance continues to be a top priority for the Company. There were two minor lost time injuries at La Parrilla in May and June, which have increased the total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR) to 32.6; whilst any incident, whatever the circumstance, is regrettable, we note that this value is below the Spanish mining industry average of 45.2.
· ROM feed has stabilised towards the end of the period, mostly due to a very low feed tonnage in April caused by the compulsory closure of non-essential operations imposed by the Spanish Government.
· Mining operations continue to perform well and deliver the required ore feed to the plant at a low waste/ore strip ratio (0.58 in the quarter), while maintaining the required grades in line with the plan to feed ore to the plant. Blasting has reached the more competent ore reducing fines in the processing operations.
· Effective utilisation of the plants has increased to over 80% at the end of the period.
· Key initiatives completed in the quarter include the installation of four hydrocyclones to feed the spiral banks, which has resulted in a much more precise control and stability over the density of the feed and a better operation of pumps, or the change of one of the roll mills in the jig plant by a Vertical Shaft Impactor (VSI), which has proven successful.
· Despite lower tungsten production, W has benefited from higher grades of tin delivered from the mine and high metal recoveries to increase total production to 65%.
Shipments and Marketing
· Shipped 58.9t of tungsten concentrate and 40.8t of tin concentrate in Q2 2020, taking total shipments to offtake partners to 89.0t of tungsten concentrate and 40.8t of tin concentrate for the half year. A further 20.4t of tungsten concentrate and 39.0t of tin concentrate has been shipped from 1 July to date.
· Market prices for European ammonium paratungstate ("APT") fell from
·
· Demand for APT in
Tungsten and Tin Projects
· Mining operations at the Régua tungsten mine in northern
· Now that the COVID-19 crisis has eased, construction activities at Régua have been rescheduled to commence in Q3 2020. Plant design and procurement activities are near completion.
· The application to extend the period of the trial mine licence as a result of the COVID-19 emergency has been made to the Portuguese mining authorities and is progressing.
Gold and Tungsten Exploration
· The application for the São Martinho gold trial mine licence in
Corporate
· Documentation is advanced to allow Payment in Kind ("PIK") of the
· Spanish government guaranteed bank facilities have been put in place with major Spanish banks for a total of
·
Information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Enquiries:
T: +44 (0) 20 7193 7463 | T: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100 |
Joint Broker T: +44 (0) 203 657 0050 | Joint Broker Alternative Resource Capital / T:+44 (0) 207 186 9004 T:+44 (0) 207 186 9952 |
Alma PR Justine James M: +44 (0) 7525 324431 |
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
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