Hillgrove Resources has completed loading of its first shipment from the Kanmantoo copper mine in South Australia.
The first shipment contained 10,099 wet metric tonnes of copper concentrate, the accumulation of copper production since processing commenced in February 2024.
“Seeing the first shipment of copper concentrate from the Kanmantoo underground set sail for Lianyungang, China, was a significant milestone for the company,” Hillgrove chief executive officer and managing director Lachlan Wallace said.
“Achieving the first shipment less than 12 months since operations commenced at Kanmantoo is a testament to the teams’ dedication and is yet another example of their ability to deliver the key objectives in the mine’s development. As production at Kanmantoo continues to ramp up to the planned rate, the frequency of shipments will increase.”
Wallace said the timing of the shipment could not have been better, with copper prices hitting all-time highs.
“The higher price not only results in greater revenue from the existing plan, but potentially enables mineralisation that was previously sub-economic to be brought into an expanded mine plan, resulting in more copper being produced and sold into the higher price environment,” he said.
Kanmantoo was closed in 1976 due to the increased costs of copper mining, but Hillgrove began rehabilitating the site in 2007 following a definitive feasibility study, with production beginning in late 2011.
Since its initial close, Hillgrove has proved an additional indicated and inferred mineral resource of 34.5 million tonnes grading 0.6 per cent copper and 0.1 grams of gold a tonne.
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