Cradle Arc PLC Operational Update (7814B)
25 September 2018 - 4:01PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMCRA
RNS Number : 7814B
Cradle Arc PLC
25 September 2018
Cradle Arc plc / EPIC: CRA.L / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining
25 September 2018
Cradle Arc plc
("Cradle Arc" or the "Company")
Operational Update
Cradle Arc (AIM: CRA), the African focused base and precious
metals exploration and production company, announces an update in
respect of operations at its 60 per cent. owned Mowana Copper Mine
in Botswana ("Mowana" or the "Mine").
Open Pit Mining Activities
Following the resumption of normal production drilling rates in
August 2018, enabling a significant amount of waste stripping to be
completed, approximately 2 million tonnes of accessible
transitional and supergene ore has now been exposed within the
Mowana North pit and North Rim Extension. Such material is
anticipated to deliver improved recoveries at a reduced production
cost over the remainder of the year and into 2019.
Processing Operations
As announced on 29 August 2018, due to the lower volume of
available ore being delivered to the processing plant and sporadic
interruptions to processing due to plant outages, the Company's H2
2018 production target of 4,000 tonnes of contained copper
production was weighted towards Q4 2018, with circa 1,000 tonnes
expected in Q3 2018.
Since then, additional processing interruptions have continued
to be experienced due to further intermittent equipment breakdowns
and, most recently, a delay in the delivery of a new part for the
primary crusher hydraulic power pack at the plant which has further
adversely impacted the processing of ore at the plant. As a result,
the Company now expects total Q3 2018 production to be
approximately 10% to 20% lower than its previous forecast. Actual
production of contained copper totaled 292 tonnes and 242 tonnes
for July 2018 and August 2018 respectively.
Although the interruptions to processing operations have led to
inefficiencies with respect to recovery rates, in light of the
abovementioned work completed on the open pit and the expectation
of improved material throughput and recoveries going forward,
management is confident of an improvement in performance in Q4
2018. The overall target of 4,000 tonnes for H2 2018 is, however,
currently under review and will be dependent on achieving higher
plant availability for processing operations at the Mine during the
remaining period when higher grade ores and recoveries are
expected.
Financing Update and Planned Processing Plant Upgrades
Whilst the Company continues to seek financing for its proposed
Dense Media Separation (DMS) upgrade project, in light of the
continued processing plant interruptions, the Board has decided to
focus in the near term on securing the requisite funding to improve
and rehabilitate the current processing facilities and establish an
inventory of certain key spare parts, to seek to mitigate the
occurrences of further processing plant breakdowns and
interruptions during the critical ramp-up phase and which are a
pre-requisite to installation of the potential DMS upgrades.
Further updates will be made as and when appropriate.
Kevin van Wouw, CEO of Cradle Arc, commented:
"In spite of the continued sporadic interruptions being
experienced at the Mowana processing plant, we have made good
progress with our open pit mining activities with a large amount of
waste stripping completed in order to lay the groundwork for a
strong period of ore delivery going forward.
"Whilst production during Q3 has been disappointing and our
overall production guidance for H2 2018 is under review, we are
working hard to get Mowana on a sound and sustainable footing for
what could potentially be decades of production, given the recent
renewal of our permits along strike to the north of the open
pit."
**ENDS**
For further information on the Company, please visit
www.cradlearc.com or contact:
Cradle Arc plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7637 5216
Kevin van Wouw
Mark Jones
Strand Hanson Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 3494
James Spinney
Matthew Chandler
James Dance
SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP
Ewan Leggat Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470
John Meyer
Tavistock Communications Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7920 3150
Charles Vivian
Gareth Tredway
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
About Cradle Arc
AIM-quoted Cradle Arc plc is the 60 per cent. owner of the
Mowana copper mine in Botswana, an operational open pit mine and
processing facility located in the north-east of the country,
approximately 120km northwest of Francistown.
The Company recently released a maiden open pit ore reserve
estimate (Proved and Probable) of 31.8Mt at 1.17% Cu for 370,800
tonnes contained copper metal, based on a Dense Media Separation
(DMS) mine plan.
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END
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