Wrap Text
Fourth quarter 2012 – 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”)
FOURTH QUARTER 2012 – OPERATIONS OVERVIEW AND PRODUCTION STATISTICS
The fourth quarter of the year commenced on a sad note with the fatal injury of a contractor employee in
October. The Managing Director, Anthony, ‘Tony’, Lennox said, “I am saddened at the fatality which I am
absolutely convinced was preventable. This was regrettably a stark reminder to the Palabora community to put
safety first and foremost in all we do”.
The production shaft was down for 67 days following the guide rope failure at the beginning of the third
quarter on 4 July 2012. Normal copper production was restored in the fourth quarter across all copper
production streams albeit with stoppages associated with the safety incidence in October. The ore grade
continues to decline as planned as the end of life of mine of the current Lift I footprint draws closer.
Full year magnetite production increased 54% to 5.3Mt from 3.4Mt in 2011 on the back of the road trucking to
Maputo initiative. Production includes reclamations from the historical stock-pile at an average of 56% iron
content as well as higher margin earning upgraded material averaging 65% iron content.
Full
Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full year year
2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012
Palabora mine
Tonnes hoisted (‘000 tonnes) 2,403 2,759 2,729 734 2,403 10,743 8,625
Mined ore treated (‘000 tonnes) 2,434 2,615 2,691 745 2,336 10,549 8,387
Slag ore treated (‘000 tonnes) 411 306 198 236 97 1,238 837
Total Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 2,845 2,921 2,889 981 2,433 11,787 9,224
Underground ore grade: copper (%) 0.63 0.60 0.59 0.60 0.58 0.64 0.59
Slag ore grade: copper (%) 1.13 1.66 1.63 1.61 1.52 1.51 1.61
Copper concentrates produced ('000 tonnes) 50.1 51.8 54.4 20.3 43.7 227.9 170.2
Average concentrate grade: copper (%) 29.9 30.4 28.8 27.3 27.8 30.3 28.6
Copper in concentrates ('000 tonnes) 14.9 15.7 15.6 5.5 12.1 69.1 48.9
Palabora smelter/refinery
New concentrate smelted on site ('000
tonnes) 60.4 56.1 51.3 6.1 43.6 230.7 157.1
New copper anodes produced ('000 tonnes) 15.7 14.7 13.8 1.2 10.9 59.4 40.6
Refined new copper produced ('000 tonnes) 16.7 15.0 12.4 4.7 8.7 59.0 40.8
Joint product:
Magnetite concentrate ('000 tonnes) 985 957 1,420 1,475 1,428 3,429 5,280
By-product:
Nickel contained in products (tonnes) 9 14 13 2 3 87 32
Copper sold as concentrate ('000 tonnes) 0.6 - - - - 5.3 -
Vermiculite plant
Vermiculite produced ('000 tonnes) 23 47 29 27 30 165 133
Ore hoisted was 227% higher than the previous quarter following full recovery from the guide rope failure
which impacted production for 67 days in the third quarter and in line the corresponding period in 2011. Full
year ore hoisted decreased 20% to 8.6Mt in 2012 from 10.7Mt in 2011 mainly due to the guide rope failure.
Total ore treated was 148% higher than the previous quarter and 14% lower than the corresponding period in
2011. Full year ore treated was 22% lower compared to 2011 in line with ore hoisted.
Concentrate produced was 115% higher than the previous quarter and 13% lower than the corresponding
period in 2011 in line with throughput. Full year copper concentrate produced was 25% lower compared to
2011 mainly due to the guide rope failure as explained above. The impact of the guide rope was partially
mitigated by processing of tap-off and slag material.
Copper in concentrate produced was 120% higher than the previous quarter and 19% lower than the
corresponding period in 2011. Full year copper in concentrate was 29% lower compared to 2011 in line with
throughput as well as the impact of lower concentrator recoveries experienced during the first quarter of the
year.
New concentrate smelted was 615% higher compared to the previous quarter and 28% lower than the
corresponding period in 2011. Concentrate smelted is higher than throughput due to the deliberate decision to
build up inventory following the guide rope failure to ensure optimal charge rates on start up.
New copper in anodes production was 808% higher than the previous quarter and 31% lower than the
corresponding period in 2011. There was increased capacity to reprocess reverts in the fourth quarter due to
the concentrate inventory build up and hence more anodes were produced compared to the throughput.
Refined copper production was higher than the previous quarter and full year refined copper production was
31% lower compared to 2011 in line with anode supply.
Magnetite production was 3% lower than the previous quarter as trucks were pulled off the road during the
festive period on safety grounds. Full year magnetite production was 54% higher than the previous year on the
back of increased logistical capacity.
Vermiculite produced increased 11% compared to the previous quarter, and 30% higher than the
corresponding quarter in 2011. The annual production was 19% lower than 2011 as the American and
European markets continue to experience economic challenges.
The above information has not been reviewed or reported on by the Company’s auditors.
Phalaborwa
14 January 2013
Investor Relations Contact: Dikeledi Nakene, Palabora +27 15 780 2277
Sponsor: One Capital
Date: 14/01/2013 05:23:00 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.
Sharenet Sites 
