· Commercial mining began on 13 January.
· Sorting plant is in trial production phase and will be taken into commercial operation in early April.
· Shipping of ore to customers starts in May, according to agreed delivery schedules.
· Scale-up to full production is brought forward by six months to March 2013.
Underground work in the form of development of ore bodies, local ramps and a new ramp connection to the surface was carried out during last year. Production drilling using the sub-level caving method has been in progress since November. The Company notified the Mining Inspectorate of the start of mining operations on 13 January 2012.
The new sorting plant is ready, and trial production is taking place during February and March in sections. The entire plant is scheduled to be taken into continuous operation in early April.
Theory training of the Company's first shift team has been completed and has now moved on to practical work on the surface and underground. Recruitment of the second shift team of just under 20 individuals is in progress. The number of applicants for the second shift has reached almost 900.
The entire logistics chain from mine to loading in Hargshamn is essentially ready for commissioning. There is still some installation work taking place at the port. Shipping of iron ore to customers starts in May in accordance with the supply agreements signed with ThyssenKrupp and Salzgitter.
The new hoist system (ore skip) will be operational earlier than originally planned. This means the scale-up to full annual production of 1,500,000 tonnes of finished product has been brought forward by six months to March 2013.
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Source: Dannemora Mineral AB via Thomson Reuters ONE