Group 6 Metals (ASX:G6M) reports increased production of tungsten from its Dolphin Mine in Tasmania for the second quarter of the year on the back of improved feed grades and recoveries.
The mine set a new record of 120,000 tonnes of ore mined for the quarter, and an average daily ore processing rate of 669 tonnes per day, which was a 12% rise on the prior quarter.
Saleable tungsten production reached 14,606 tonnes at an average grade of 57% tungsten trioxide.
Group 6, which has a market capitalisation of $28.1 million, added $5.1 million to the coffers during the quarter from shipments of 12,290 tonnes of tungsten trioxide in concentrate.
This comes as the price of ammonium paratungstate (APT) cost, insurance and freight shipped to Rotterdam prices increased during the quarter to US$335-360 ($512-550) per tonne.
Managing Director Keith McKnight says the operations team has now progressed the stage-one pit sufficiently to access the “high-grade” ore from the C-Lens.
“In July, we commenced mining the high-grade blocks, which were confirmed by production drill hole assays and UV lamping,” he says.
“Both feed grades and recoveries improved at the end of the quarter.
“Plant stability and reliability is the key challenge and an engineering review has identified key improvements to enhance plant stability, throughput, and recovery, showing promising gains as they are implemented.”
The increased plant feed rate follows the refurbishment of ball mills, completed in February, and ongoing enhancement works to crushing circuits and conveyors.
The company undertook ore sorting trials for the low-grade and high-grade ore, which McKnight says achieved encouraging results.
Talks are now underway with the original equipment manufacturer to begin site trials in the second half of the year.
Group 6 is also advancing a power purchase agreement with Climate Capital to integrate solar and battery storage into the Dolphin operation.
“Together, these developments reflect our focus on operational efficiency, positioning us strongly for the second half of CY24,” Mcknight says.
On the environmental safety front, Group 6 says there were no reportable environmental incidents and three lost time incidents in the second quarter.
The company notes that it is stepping up its efforts to improve safety on site through consistent training, effective risk identification and management, incident management, and regular safety meetings.
At the end of the quarter, Group 6 had $800,000 in cash and $8.95 million in undrawn debt facilities.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Group 6 Metals
