LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Kenmare Resources Plc (KMR.L), an Irish producer of titanium minerals and zircon, which operates the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in northern Mozambique, on Thursday reported a decline in the production of Ilmenite, Primary zircon, Heavy Mineral Concentrate or HMC for the third-quarter of 2023.
However, the company registered a rise in production of Rutile and Concentrates, which includes secondary zircon and mineral sands concentrate.
For the three-month period to September 30, Ilmenite production was at 291,200 tons, lesser than 304,700 tons, posted for the same period of last year, due to the reduction in HMC processed.
Primary zircon production dropped to 14,100 tons from last year's 17,300 tons after recoveries were impacted in by power reliability issues leading to increased stock spillage.
Output of HMC processed dropped to 412,900 tons from 440, 500 tons in 2022.
Rutile production increased to 2,700 tons from previous year's 2,600 tons, due to increased rutile feed grade in HMC and improved recoveries as a result of separation equipment upgrades.
Concentrates production was up 14,700 tons from 13,000 tons, benefitting from increased feed availability and debottlenecking of the circuit, which facilitated increased throughputs.
Total shipments were 163,400 tons, a 43 percent decrease from last year's 285,600 tons, largely due to two ilmenite shipments being completed after quarter-end and falling into the fourth-quarter of 2024. Shipments comprised 143,200 tons of ilmenite, 9,200 tons of primary zircon, and 11,000 tons of concentrates.
Looking ahead, for full year, the miner said that it is on track to achieve its revised 2023 Ilmenite production guidance. As announced on July 13, Kenmare expects its Ilmenite output to reach 980,000 tons to 1,040,000 tons in 2023.
Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2023 AFX News
