North West Qld mine operators Austral say they have begun the first oxide ore deliveries from Anthill Mine to Mt Kelly plant.
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Beginning on Tuesday, Austral said it was on schedule to commence Anthill ore processing in April and achieve significant copper cathode production increases from May to benefit from the high copper price
The company said they expected to deliver 5,000t of ore in March, 55,000t in April and 155,000t in May 2022. Cathode production will triple by May 2022 and be ten times the rate by September.
Austral also told the ASX the crushing circuit processed its first rock on March 24.
The Anthill Project will extend copper production from the existing Lady Annie Operations and is located 45km from the Mt Kelly processing facility.
Austral began blasting at the site, 80km north of Mount Isa, late last year while Thiess has started a $95 million three-year mining services contract in December.
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Steve Tambanis, Austral's Chief Executive Officer said the first Anthill ore delivery to the Mt Kelly processing facility was a significant milestone.
"Ore stacking onto the heap leach pad is expected to begin in late April and first plates of Anthill copper cathode will be produced in May," Mr Tambanis said.
"From July onwards, copper cathode production is expected to exceed 1,000t per month. Rapidly increasing production and higher than forecast copper prices will combine to see healthy sales revenue from May."
Mr Tambanis said they had moved over 4Mt of overburden since January.
"When full scale haulage commences with 125t road trains, each train contains sufficient copper to produce one tonne of recovered copper cathode or greater than US$10,000 per train at current copper prices," he said.
"The crushing circuit successfully processed its first rock as part of the refurbishment and commissioning process."
Mr Tambanis said they had over 100 staff and contractors on site, finishing the plant refurbishment and beginning full scale ore production.
"Austral is on track to achieve a planned copper production rate of 10,000tpa from mid-2022 for a four-year period. We look forward to further updating shareholders as we commence maiden Anthill copper production and step-up exploration and development activities," he said.
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