DELIVERY OF PRIMARY ORE TO GLENCORE’S ERNEST HENRY MINE...

DELIVERY OF PRIMARY ORE TO GLENCORE’S ERNEST HENRY MINE COMMENCES Rocklands Rectification and Re-commissioning Completed to Operational Capacity, with Potential for Significantly Increased Throughput The Company is pleased to advise shareholders that re-commissioning of the Rocklands Copper projects main crusher circuit has now been completed, with only fine tuning and small in-house modifications being implemented to increase operational time and to decrease operational down time. Feed rates up to the nameplate capacity of 550 tonnes per hour achieved. Indications are from our experienced crusher operators that up to an additional 200 tonnes per hour is achievable as a result of the rectification work undertaken. The Company has been carrying out rectification works to the Main Crushing circuit, which was supplied and installed by Queensland company Index Industrial Brokers (Index-EMS), from Brisbane.
The crusher plant has required major rectification works and improvements of the electrical systems, particularly because the installation failed to comply with relevant contractual standards, Australian Standards and Queensland Mining Regulations. The Company also had to replace two failed gearboxes in the secondary and tertiary roller crusher circuits and was required to replace a number of other sub-standard parts during this period. The Company issued legal proceedings in the Supreme Court of Queensland against Equipment & Machinery Sales Pty Ltd for the recovery of all costs and damages associated with the substandard installation. CRUSHER NOW OPERATING The crusher is now operational and commissioned and the CuDeco metallurgical and process team are fine tuning the circuit so that production can commence for the coarse (+40mm fraction size) native copper product. The full range of operating parameters are being evaluated on a range of feed rock hardness. The crushing circuit testwork has now operated
Recent experience with processing the High-grade Native Copper Ore through the Company’s mobile crusher to produce DSO native copper (see ASX Announcement 08th September, 2014) gave a good indication of the potential size of native copper nuggets that could be encountered (see Figure 05 below). In response to this the team has also installed an additional scalping screen above Number 1 Rolls Crusher to enable the separation of the oversize (+200 mm fraction size) native copper nuggets for recovery and sale as part of the DSO.
Following on from the recent announcement regarding trial processing of Rocklands high-grade primary ore at the EHM processing plant (Refer ASX announcement 14th October, 2014), CuDeco is pleased to advise shareholders that shipment of this ore has commenced. On behalf of the Board - ends