I bought more KBL shares yesterday. From the Dec 10 and Dec Qtrly reports, operations at Mineral Hill looks to have turned the corner. These are the following positives:
a) KBL are now mining Stopes 9 & 10 which are from volcanic host rocks and not the sedimentary host rocks in which the latter has high galena and talc content. This will definitely improve the recovery rates and reduce the reagent usage.
b) 50% of the mined ore now comes from the Red Terror which not only have higher Cu and Au head grades but also superior recoveries (Jan copper recoveries were averaging at 92%) and less deleterious material.
c) 417t of Cu metal in concentrate was produced in Jan. Target for Mar'13 Qtr is 1500t - 1600t. And a 600-800oz of Au is targeted for the same Qtr. This is not surprising as the it incorporates the ore from Red Terror. All this compares favorably against the ore mined from Parkers Hill: i) Dec'12 Qtr - 861t of Cu and 364oz of Au ii) Sep'12 Qtr - 1076t of Cu and 426oz of Au iii) Jun'12 Qtr - 1046t of Cu and 290oz of Au
KBL Price at posting:
12.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
