Anvil Commences Copper Production at Kulu Mine Under Budget and Ahead of Schedule Tuesday December 6, 9:00 am ET
TSX, ASX: AVM Common shares outstanding: 29.1 million All amounts are expressed in US dollars PERTH, Australia, Dec. 6 /CNW/ - Anvil Mining Limited (TSX, ASX: AVM - News News) is pleased to announce that copper concentrate is now being produced at the Company's Kulu Mine (Anvil 70%), in the Kolwezi Region located in the southwest part of the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The commissioning of the Heavy Media Separation (HMS) plant commenced on November 25, 2005. The current throughput is approximately 25 tonnes per hour and will ramp up gradually to 30 tonnes per hour by mid-December 2005, by which time the plant is expected to be producing 3,500 tonnes of oxide copper concentrate per month at an average grade of 30% copper. During the beginning of the first quarter of 2006, the scrubber, which has been partially installed at the front end of the plant, will be commissioned. This is expected to increase throughput to the design capacity of 50 tonnes per hour and produce 6,000 tonnes of concentrate per month beginning in February 2006.
As previously announced, mining operations at Kulu commenced on September 22, 2005 and as of the date of commissioning, some 90,000 tonnes of ore grading more than 6% copper had been stockpiled on the Run of Mine (ROM) pad adjacent to the HMS plant. The mining of the coarse rejects/tailings of the Kulu deposit is a relatively simple operation with no waste stripping and no requirement for drill and blast activities.
The HMS plant at Kulu is the refurbished plant used for the initial development of the Dikulushi Mine in 2002. Dikulushi is now a ball mill and flotation processing operation. Use of this surplus plant significantly reduced the capital cost for the HMS project at Kulu and enabled the Company to build the first stage of the Kulu project entirely out of cash flow from the Dikulushi Mine.
"We are pleased to have been able to begin copper concentrate production at Kulu under budget and one month ahead of the original schedule," commented Bill Turner, President and CEO of Anvil. "The credit for this accomplishment goes to our construction team who gained experience in the DRC with the construction of our Dikulushi copper-silver open-pit mine located northeast of Kulu. The open-pit Kulu mine should reach its design capacity in the first quarter of 2006 and we expect that the HMS plant will process 385,000 tonnes of ore per annum with an average grade for the first three years of greater than 6% copper for targeted production of 16,500 tonnes of copper recovered for 2006. We expect that the 2006 production, on a consolidated basis (Dikulushi and Kulu mines), will be in the order of 36,500 tonnes of copper in concentrate."
A scoping study for a Stage II solvent extraction-electrowinning (SXEW) operation at Kulu is expected to be completed shortly, at which stage the Company will initiate a bankable feasibility study.
Anvil Mining Limited is an unhedged copper and silver producer whose shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol AVM.
Additional Notes:
Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements: The forward looking statements made in this news release are based on assumptions and judgments of the management regarding future events and results. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those with respect to the future operation of the Kulu mine, the future development of the Kulu copper deposit, and the future operation of the Dikulushi mine, known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any forecast results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the actual prices of copper and silver, results of current exploration, development, processing plant commissioning and mining activities, changes in project parameters and plans, changes in the political environment in the countries in which the Company operates, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's filed documents.
For further information
please contact: Bill Turner, President & CEO, Tel: +61 (8) 9481-4700, Email: [email protected] (Perth), Company Web site: www.anvil.com.au Craig Munro, Vice President Corporate & Finance, Tel: +61 (8) 9481-4700, Email: [email protected] (Perth) Robert La Vallière, Vice President Investor Relations, Telephone: Office (514) 448-6664, Cell (514) 944-9036, Email: [email protected] (Montréal)
Source: Anvil Mining Limited
AVM Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
