Sandfire Resources says the commissioning of an expanded processing facility is underway at its Motheo Copper Mine in Botswana, with the first ore having been successfully fed into the new ball mill.
It said the rapid and low-cost expansion of Motheo remains on time and within budget.
“We are particularly pleased to have achieved another important milestone at Motheo before calendar year-end...,” said company chief executive Brendan Harris.
“Commissioning of the new ball mill sees us move a step closer to achieving the operation’s expanded 5.2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) rate through the first quarter of the calendar year 2024.”
He said that although it is still early, Sanfire is looking forward to testing Motheo’s full potential, having achieved throughput rates that significantly exceeded the operation’s interim 3.2 Mtpa nameplate rate across shifts during the December 2023 quarter.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
