Tiger Resources Ltd. officials have announced the solvent-extraction/electro-winning (SX/EW) plant at their Kipoi copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reached nameplate copper cathode capacity, with August witnessing 2,015 metric tons (mt) at 97% capacity; last month, they added, saw 2,104 mt of copper at 101%.
Managing Director Brad Marwood praised the development in the Katanga Province within 11 weeks of startup. “Commercial returns are significantly superior to those associated with concentrate production,” he said; a 14,000-mt production rate is forecast through Q4 2014, with 25,000 mt in 12 months pending full production.
Tiger also has a 60% interest in La Société d’Exploitation de Kipoi SPRL (SEK), the DRC-registered Kipoi operator, which holds project assets; Tiger will acquire the remaining 40% from Joint Venture (JV) partner Gecamines. Phased development started with a Stage 2 SX/EW plant initiating Q2 2014 output, said officials; since 2011, first stage heavy-media plant separation (HMS) produced stockpiles with 159,600 mt of contained copper feed for the SX/EW through 2018.
Ore nearby in the Kipoi and Lupoto project areas will be further processed amid SX/EW operations, increasing feedstock to the SX/EW plant, while enhancing mine life and/or throughput, according to Tiger officials. Additional exploration will determine whether these deposits may be available for SX/EW plant feed.
