Lafayette Mining Rebounds In Philippines
Published by MAC on 2006-10-09Source: The Age
Lafayette Mining rebounds in Philippines
9th October 2006
Lafayette Mining Ltd has recovered from a direct hit by a tropical storm, confirming work has restarted at its Rapu Rapu operations in the Philippines and reliable production should be achieved in the next two weeks.
The polymetallic operations cranked back into action last Friday after Lafayette was able to restore the power supply to process water pumps.
"Reliable production of commercial grade concentrates is expected to be achieved within the next two weeks," the minerals exploration and development company said.
Operations at the site withstood a direct hit by typhoon Milenyo in early October.
"All critical operational areas, from the tailings dams to the processing plant, were undamaged despite the severity of the tempest," Lafayette added.
The only damage to the project was to non-critical areas such as the mess hall, portions of the perimeter fence, communications, and high-voltage power due to fallen electric posts.
Additional funding has been provided by project stakeholders, including the bank group, under the terms of a loan deal made in July, to provide working capital pending activation of certain stockpile financing arrangements and the establishment of project revenues from steady state operations.
The polymetallic project, located on Rapu Rapu Island 350km south of Manila, is 85 per cent-owned by Lafayette Mining.
The Rapu Rapu mineral resource currently supports an eight-year mine life capable of producing about 10,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates, 14,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrates, 50,000 ounces of gold and 600,000 ounces of silver annually.
Lafayette's shares closed up 0.6 cents to 8.5 cents.