Modern Mining February 2015

MINING News

Record production of copper by First Quantum in 2014

The new FQM smelter at Kansanshi in Zambia showing the smelter reagents building and the oxygen plant (photo: FQM).

First Quantum Minerals (FQM), listed on the TSX and LSE, produced 427 655 tonnes of copper in the year ended 31 December 2014 compared to 412 281 tonnes in 2013 and 45 879 (contained) tonnes of nickel compared to 47 066 tonnes in 2013. Gold production at 229 813 ounces was down on the 2013 figure of 248 078 ounces. “Overall our operations performed well in 2014 recording the highest annual cop- per production in the company’s history,” comments Philip Pascal, FQM’s CEO and

its amendment. The current IWUL expires in March 2016, and the company felt it was prudent to renew this licence prior to committing further shareholder funds to the project. The approval of the renewal is expected at the end of Q2 CY 2015. “We will continue to engage with regu- latory authorities and other stakeholders at Vele, as we continue to set a new bench- mark for the co-existence between mining, agriculture and heritage land uses within the area in which we operate,” comments David Brown, CoAL’s CEO. “This period also gives the company further time to assess the outlook for coal prices. Discussions con- tinue with appropriate end users regarding off-take agreements.”  Chairman.“Limited local smelter capacity in Zambia persisted and affected Kansanshi’s performance and sales; and a structural failure in an atmospheric leach tank at Ravensthorpe suspended operations there in mid-December. The spill from the failure was contained within the plant’s protective area, there were no environmental effects or injuries and we anticipate the mine will be back in production shortly.” He adds that 2015 will be an important year for First Quantum. “Our smelter in

Zambia is being commissioned with first anodes poured during December 2014. First concentrate was also successfully produced at Sentinel during the fourth quarter 2014. The smelter’s ramp up will influence the rate of production build-up of our new Sentinel mine. This will also influence, as more acid becomes available, the level and mix of operations and unit cost of production at Kansanshi. “The financial and commodity mar- kets have started 2015 with high volatility on concerns about the global economy, demand for natural resources and compa- nies’ liquidity positions,” he continues. “As a result, our share price, along with others in the sector, has been materially affected. While we have high confidence in the mid to long-term outlook for copper, we are mindful of the current concerns. As always, we pay close attention to the company’s financial position to make sure there is suf- ficient flexibility despite having an active project development pipeline. “At Cobre Panama, we have substantially reduced the planned capital expenditure for 2015 to US$600 million without com- promising the project’s progress. We also maintain strong and supportive relation- ships with our principal banks that have worked with us throughout the develop- ment of the company and through several economic and commodity cycles.” 

Coal of Africa takes a step forward at Vele Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) reports that the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has recently granted an amendment of the Environmental Authorisation in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (2010) for its Vele colliery in Limpopo Province.

This amendment is the first of several required to be granted in relation to the planned modifications to Vele’s processing plant, and is a further step toward achiev- ing full regulatory compliance required to begin construction. The company has also sought a renewal of the Integrated Water Use Licence and

14  MODERN MINING  February 2015