TIDMWRES
RNS Number : 3918M
W Resources PLC
21 January 2021
21 January 2021
W Resources Plc
("W" or the "Company")
Q4 2020 Production Report
W Resources Plc (AIM:WRES), the tungsten, tin and gold mining
company with assets in Spain and Portugal, is pleased to announce
its Q4 2020 quarterly production report for the La Parrilla mine in
Spain.
During the three month period ending 31 December 2020, the
Company continued to make plant improvements resulting in major
production increases across the board. These improvements continue
apace and should be completed in early February 2021.
During the quarter, the plant continued to work a four day week,
moving to a five day working week in early January 2021, with a
target to move to a seven day working week with effect from April
2021.
Currently each working day consists of three, eight hour shifts
and once the plant moves to a seven day working week, it will
revert back to two 12 hour shifts.
The Company looks forward to once again operating the La
Parrilla mine on a true 24 / 7 basis, which is widely accepted
within the mining community as "best practice".
Key Metrics
-- A total of 261,841 tonnes ("t") of Run of Mine ("ROM") ore
fed to the La Parrilla plant in Q4 2020, up 53% on a like for like
basis and up 15% on a pro rata basis compared to Q3 (adjusting for
days worked).
-- Total tungsten and tin concentrate production of 133.4t
during the quarter, up 72% on a like for like basis and up 29% on a
pro rata basis compared to Q3.
-- Tungsten ("WO(3) ") concentrate production of 100.0t during
the quarter, up 83% on a like for like basis and up 37% on a pro
rata basis compared to Q3.
-- Tin ("Sn") concentrate production of 33.4 dry metric tonnes
("dmt"), up 46% on a like for like basis and up 9% on a pro rata
basis compared to Q3.
La Parrilla Production Summary
Q3 was based on working a three day week, and Q4 is based on a
four day week.
Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Variance Variance
Actual Actual Comparison Pro rata
========================== ======== ======== =========== =========
WO(3) contained metal
(mtu) 3,820 6,698 75% 32%
========================== ======== ======== =========== =========
Sn contained metal (dmt) 9.8 18.8 92% 44%
========================== ======== ======== =========== =========
Total contained metal
(dmt) 48.0 85.8 79% 34%
========================== ======== ======== =========== =========
('dmt' - dry metric tonnes, 'mtu' - metric tonne unit (1 mtu =
10kg of metal)
Michael Masterman, Chairman of W Resources , commented: "We are
extremely encouraged by the increase in production during the
quarter as we draw near to completing our improvement plan. As we
continue to access the lower ore bodies of the mine we expect to
see production numbers continue to rise in the months ahead.
"We are delighted to see that there is plenty of demand for our
production from existing and potential new customers with healthy
demand for all the tungsten and tin we can mine. It is also very
reassuring to note both tungsten and tin prices strengthening.
"A great deal of thanks must go to our staff for their
flexibility, determination and drive as they work towards improving
the mine and making it run as efficiently as possible particularly
in this challenging environment."
Q4 2020 Overview
In Q4, the plant improvement programme included the
following:
-- Jigs: replaced screen panels and quaternary mill rolls with
materials more resistant to abrasion and modifications to jigging
speed to improve recovery.
-- Spirals: replaced polyethylene pipes with others more
resistant to abrasion, modifications made to reagent feed to float
arsenopyrite on shaking tables, and preparations for the
recommissioning of the rod mill.
-- FME (Flotation, Magnetic and Electrostatic): integrated
system for wet reprocessing of off-spec concentrates, improvements
to flotation density, installation of a new magnetic separator,
modifications to some pumping points to produce a higher
capacity.
Benefits of the plant improvements:
Greater plant availability with better recoveries and improving
maintenance has led to:
-- Increasing process stability
-- Greater run times
-- Less impurities going into final concentrate
-- Increased production
La Parrilla Production Summary
Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Variance Variance
Actual Actual Comparison Pro rata*
----------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
ROM feed: tonnes mined
(wmt) 171,454 261,841 53% 15%
Strip ratio 1.38 1.19 -14%
Jig plant: tonnes processed
(dmt) 148,417 236,677 59% 20%
WO(3) feed grade (ppm) 857 943 10%
WO(3) recovery (%) 30% 31% 3%
WO(3) concentrate (dmt) 54.7 100.0 83% 37%
WO(3) concentrate grade
(%) 69.8 67.0 -4%
WO(3) contained metal
(mtu) 3,820 6,698 75% 32%
Sn feed grade (ppm) 181 321 77% 33%
Sn recovery (%) 37% 26% -30%
Sn concentrate (dmt) 22.9 33.4 46% 9%
Sn concentrate grade
(%) 42.7 56.3 32%
Sn contained metal (dmt) 9.8 18.8 92% 44%
Total concentrate (dmt) 77.6 133.4 72% 29%
Total contained metal
(dmt) 48.0 85.8 79% 34%
----------------------------- -------- -------- ----------- ----------
* Q3 2020 production was based on working 3 days a week and Q4
production was based on working four days a week.
Recoveries for the quarter were impacted by the performance of
the jigs which slowed the recovery rates for both October and
November. Whilst this was disappointing, especially after such a
strong September, the improvement programme identified the issues
which were resolved alongside other key plant improvements and
resulted in December being the best ever month for concentrator
recovery at 50% and WO(3) concentrate at 41.5%.
-- Safety performance continues to be a top priority for the
Company. There were zero minor lost time injuries at La Parrilla
during the quarter, however, there was one Covid-19 infection
during the period. The case was detected while the worker was off
duty and they remained in quarantine at home and none of W's other
employees contracted the infection from their colleague.
-- The Company has acquired quick Covid-19 antigen tests to
improve detection and control of the disease with the aim of
keeping all employees and contractors safe whilst in the La
Parrilla work place.
-- Mining operations continue to perform well and deliver the
required ore feed to the plant at a low waste / ore strip ratio
(1.19 in the quarter), while maintaining the required grades to
feed ore to the plant.
-- Plant utilisation remains over 90% for the quarter.
Shipments
W Resources shipped 100.2t of tungsten concentrate and 26.1t of
tin concentrate in Q4 2020, taking total shipments to offtake
partners to 251.3t of tungsten concentrate and 105.0t tin
concentrate for the 12 months to December 2020.
H1 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020
Actual Actual Actual Variance
---------------------- -------- -------- -------- ---------
Tungsten Concentrate 89.0 62.1 100.2 61%
Tin Concentrate 40.8 38.1 26.1 -31%
---------------------- -------- -------- -------- ---------
Whilst the tonnage of tin shipped in Q4 was lower than Q3 it was
a very high grade (57% compared to 31%) and therefore commanded a
much higher price than previous shipments. This higher grade
concentrate is a result of better recovery and improved separation,
a direct result of the work undertaken to improve flotation and
magnetic separation, which allows less impurities going into the
final concentrate.
Commodity pricing
European ammonium paratungstate ("APT") pricing remains strong
at US$235-US$240 / mtu with industry comment from Fastmarkets MB
that: " There's very little material available in Europe in 2021
and shipments from China are delayed. That is continuing to push
APT offers up."
The Tin price continues to strengthen reaching a 12 month high
of over US$21,500 per tonne in January 2021, from a low of
US$13,375 in March 2020 (source: LME).
The Company looks forward to issuing its Q1 2021 Production
Report in April of this year.
Information communicated within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the UK Market
Abuse Regulations. Upon the publication of this announcement, this
inside information is now considered to be in the public
domain.
Enquiries:
W Resources Plc Grant Thornton UK LLP
Paul Hailes Colin Aaronson / Seamus Fricker
investor@wresources.com T: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100
www.wresources.com
Joint Broker Joint Broker
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Alternative Resource Capital /
Ltd Shard Capital
Andy Thacker / Zoe Alexander Alex Wood
T: +44 (0) 203 657 0050 T:+44 (0) 207 186 9004
www.turnerpope.com www.altrescap.com
Damon Heath
T:+44 (0) 207 186 9952
www.shardcapital.com
Alma PR
Justine James
M: +44 (0) 7525 324431
wres@almapr.co.uk
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