Sierra Rutile Limited has said that in spite of the difficult challenges they faced during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone they have recorded the highest annual production rate since the mines restarted in 2006.
The 2015 annual production was 126,021 tonnes of rutile which saw a 10% increase compared to 114,163 in the previous year. The company recently announced that the latest achievement represented “the highest annual production since operations were restarted in 2006”.
There was a 5% increase in Ilmenite production in 2015 with 37, 633 tonnes compared to 35,839 tonnes in 2014, said the company engaged in exploring for, producing and marketing industrial minerals, primarily rutile, in the country.
“In the fourth quarter of 2015, production reached 38,787 tonnes of rutile and 10,484 tonnes of Ilmenite. The previous quarter (Q3) in 2015 had 33,960 tonnes of rutile and 10, 229 tonnes of Ilimenite. This shows an increase of 14% in rutile production and a 25% increase from Q4 2014.
“In total, the fourth quarter of 2015 has a run-rate higher than any year of the company’s production on an annual basis.Due to a minor interruption in the last week of December 2015, 1,550 tonnes of rutile was partially processed at year end. This is referred to as (“Rutile In-process”). When adjusting for this Rutile In-process, production for the last quarter was 40,337 tonnes of rutile.”
Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Rutile Limited John Sisay said, “We are very pleased to record the highest quarter of rutile production and the highest annual production since the operation was restarted in 2006. Sierra Leone was declared Ebola free in November 2015 and we are proud to have achieved this result during a difficult backdrop”.
He added: “Looking forward into 2016, we remain focused on unlocking shareholder value in a disciplined way, aligning production volumes to customer requirements, continuous cost improvements and productivity enhancements. We have further strengthened our position as a leading producer of premium grade rutile and continue to work in close collaboration with our customers on long-term rutile demand planning.”
The company has a 95% work force and a mainly Sierra Leonean management team and runs on a cost effective basis. Cost control was a key focus for the last three months of 2015 as it continues to target producing in the lowest quartile on the global cost curve.
(C) Politico 19/01/16
