Petra Diamonds injects US$22 million into Mwadui mine operations
Posted on : Friday , 9th October 2015
Petra Diamonds has earmarked US$22 million for capital spending in two years at its Williamson mine at Mwadui in Shinyanga, which last fiscal year produced 202,265 carats, The Guardian has established.
Reliable sectoral sources said US$17 million will be injected into the operation in the current financial year, which started this June. The remaining US$5 million for capital expenditure (capex) will be used in the 2017/18 financial year.
During fiscal year 2015, which ended this May, the UK Jersey-incorporated company spent US$16.2 million on capital investments at the mine. The amount was 82 per cent more over the US$8.9 million that was spent in the year ending May 2014.
During the two periods, total capex for the whole group went up by US$62.9 per cent, which was an increase of nearly 30 per cent.
“Total Group capex for the Year was US$274.1million compared to US$211.2 million in financial year 2014, in line with the rollout of the Group’s expansion programmes,” Petra Diamonds said in the preliminary results for the year ended June 30, 2015.
The company has a diversified portfolio, with interests in eight producing mines in South Africa and Tanzania and an exploration programme in Botswana.
In Tanzania, production increased by seven per cent in fiscal year 2015 to 202,265 carats against the 2014 output of 188,465 carats, mainly due to the increase in run of mine (ROM) tonnes treated.
Revenue increased 15 per cent to US$62.1 million from US$53.9 million in 2014 due to higher ROM production and the higher proportion of ROM versus alluvial diamonds sold for the year.
“Petra’s current mine plan for Williamson has a life extending to 2033 , but given that the Mwadui kimberlite hosts a major resource of 33.1Mcts (million carats), there is potential to extend the LOM (life of the mine) considerably,” the company notes in the report.
“A decision was taken by management in FY 2015 to carry out plant modifications at Williamson in order to improve throughput and diamond liberation.
This is a particularly relevant strategy at this lower grade operation and the modifications are planned to enable the mine to reach throughput of 5 Mtpa (metric tonnes per annum) by FY 2018,” it adds.
Petra said the plant enhancements will include the introduction of an additional crusher circuit and two autogenous mills, with construction commencing in the current financial year.
Commissioning of the crusher is planned for fiscal years 2016 and installation and commissioning of the two autogenous mills is expected in the first half of the next financial year.
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