Prominent Hill bounces back, Oz Minerals to meet FY guidance

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Australian copper and gold miner Oz Minerals has maintained its full-year production guidance, despite losing about 10% of its plant availability in the June quarter owing to unplanned repairs.

The Prominent Hill mine produced 27 350 t of copper in concentrate and 30 099 oz of gold in concentrate in the second quarter, taking its half-year production to 58 368 t of copper and 57 662 oz of gold and placing it on track to meet its full-year guidance.

While copper production was slightly lower than the March quarter’s output of 31 018 t, gold production was higher than the prior quarter’s 27 563 oz as a result of increased gold head grade. The grade remains elevated and will contribute to higher gold production in the second half of the year.

Oz Minerals, which earlier this week announced that it would proceed with the Carrapateena decline, aims to produce between 115 000 t and 125 000 t of copper in concentrate and between 125 000 oz and 135 000 oz of gold in concentrate this year.

“Prominent Hill has once again demonstrated its operational resilience by bouncing back from an unscheduled plant closure and frequent regional rainfall,” MD and CEO Andrew Cole said on Friday.

The unplanned repairs related to cracked girth gears in the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill. A planned shutdown for a SAG mill reline was also completed in the quarter.

Cole also praised his underground team’s work, saying that issues with ground support mesh entering the ore stream during the March quarter had been resolved and that underground mining costs were reducing, while productivity was improving.

Oz reported underground operating costs of $48/t, which was significantly lower than the prior quarter’s $60/t.

Shipments of Prominent Hill concentrates for the quarter totalled 60 994 dry metric tonnes, containing 30 147 t of copper, 33 223 oz of gold and 223 055 oz of silver.

Oz Minerals’ cash balance grew to A$564-million in the June quarter, from A$533-million in the March quarter.