Sharenet Sites 
Sharenet Sites
PAM - Palabora Mining Company Limited - First quarter 2011 - operations overview and production statistics PALABORA MINING COMPANY LIMITED (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) Registration number - 1956/002134/06 JSE Code: PAM ISIN: ZAE000005245 ("Palabora" or "the Company") FIRST QUARTER 2011 - OPERATIONS OVERVIEW AND PRODUCTION STATISTICS 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q FULL FULL 1Q 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 YEAR YEAR 2009 2010
Palabora mine Tonnes hoisted 2,839 2,748 2,812 2,838 2,601 11,538 11,236 (`000 tonnes) Ore treated 2,783 2,861 2,887 3,126 2,845 11,330 11,657 (`000 tonnes) Average ore 0.66 0.64 0.64 0.63 0.67 0.64 grade: copper 0.66 (%) 61.8 57.9 61.1 65.2 58.4 270.8 246 Copper concentrates produced (`000 tonnes) Average 29.8 31.1 31 29.5 29.5 30.5 30.3 concentrate grade: copper (%) Copper in 18.4 18 18.9 19.3 17.3 82.6 74.6 concentrates (`000 tonnes) Palabora smelter/refinery New concentrate 57.7 59.6 61.4 62.1 62.3 266.6 240.8 smelted on site (`000 tonnes) New copper 12.4 14.6 14.3 14.4 14.7 65.9 55.7 anodes produced (`000 tonnes) Refined new 12 13.8 14.7 17.5 14.8 69.4 58 copper produced (`000 tonnes) Joint product: Magnetite 754 780 764 695 880 2,845 2,993 concentrate (`000 tonnes) By-products: Nickel contained 18 15 15 24 27 95 72 in products (tonnes) Copper sold as 2.5 2.6 0.5 4.3 1.3 17.5 9.9 concentrate (`000 tonnes) Vermiculite plant Vermiculite 54 46 51 45 196 196 produced (`000 43 tonnes) Palabora, a member of the Rio Tinto Group of Companies, situated in the Ba- Phalaborwa area of Limpopo, operates a large block cave copper mine and smelter complex, mines and exports magnetite and operates a vermiculite mining and processing facility. Daily ore hoisted from the underground mine averaged 28 903 tonnes for the quarter ended 31 March 2011, 8% lower than the previous quarter and the corresponding period in 2010. A total of 2 601kt of ore was hoisted during the quarter with a copper grade of 0.66%. Production during the quarter was impacted by winder slowdowns in January to prevent further damage until both winder drums are replaced. The replacement of the north winder drum occurred in February, one month ahead of schedule. The south winder drum will be replaced during April. Ore hoisting rates are expected to improve over the remainder of the year from May once the south winder drum is replaced and commissioned. Ore treated was 2 845kt, 9% lower than the previous quarter and 2% higher than the corresponding period in 2010. The ore treated was in line with mill supply which was affected by the winder slowdowns and February north winder drum replacement. Copper concentrate production was 58.4kt, 10% lower than the previous quarter and 6% lower than the corresponding period in 2010. The decrease was due to the primary crusher failure following fuse damage which reduced slag processing and was in conjunction with lower material from the underground due to the winder drum replacement. One week`s slag processing was lost as a result of the crusher failure. Copper in concentrate production was 17.3kt, 10% lower than the previous quarter and 6% lower than the corresponding period in 2010. The reduction from the previous quarter was due to processing lower grade slag and lower material throughput whilst the decrease from the corresponding quarter was due to the planned absence of low grade concentrate pond reclamation. New concentrate smelted was 62.3kt and new anode production was 14.7kt. New concentrate and anode production remained in line with the previous quarter and was 8% and 19% higher, respectively, than the corresponding period in 2010. Production in the corresponding quarter was affected by Wolff cranes availability and acid plant challenges. Refined copper production was 14.8kt and in line with anode supply but 15% lower than the previous quarter due to utilisation of inventory in the previous quarter. Refined copper production was 23% higher than the corresponding period in 2010 in line with higher anode supply. The refinery operated an average of 11.4 sections for the quarter ended 31 March 2011 compared to 12.7 in the previous quarter and 9 sections in the corresponding period in 2010. Magnetite Magnetite production was 880kt and 27% higher than the previous quarter following the reopening of the Brakspruit Bridge. Production was 17% higher than the corresponding period in 2010 as a result of improved magnetite reclaim and processing rates. Vermiculite Operations Production was 43kt and 4% lower than the previous quarter and 20% lower than the corresponding period in 2010 as a result of wet feed due to wet weather. A complete load and haul shutdown to address minor safety issues relating to mining activities and minor processing challenges had a minor impact on production. The above information has not been reviewed or reported on by the Company`s auditors. Phalaborwa 12 April 2011 Sponsor: Barnard Jacobs Mellet Corporate Finance (Proprietary) Limited Date: 12/04/2011 16:00:03 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on, information disseminated through SENS.
