Antam?s nickel, gold production down in Q2
Wednesday, July 31 2002 - 04:50 PM WIB
?In April, there were repairs conducted on the Metal Hole in Power Unit H. From April 7 - 29 repairs were conducted on Rotary Kiln II. In May, production was affected by the commissioning (reheating) of Power Unit II from April 29 to May 19. In June, Power Unit II did not operate a1 full load, only at 13 MWH, because of excessively hot temperature of the outer shell. This condition is expected to return to normal,? said Antam in its quarterly report.
?The repairs to FeNi II, which were scheduled for this year, are now complete and were conducted within the planned 3-4 weeks of stopped production (which excludes the partial-load production that occurs during commissioning). Power Unit II is scheduled for an overhaul in 2003.?
In April, Pomalaa experienced a 5-day shut down due to a strike action that was quickly resolved.
The average cash cost of production of ferronickel a d nickel ore increased in 2Q02 due to reduced production from stoppages for repairs, the strike and for nickel ore from the rainy season in March and April.
Antam expected to produce 9,100 tonnes of contained nickel in ferronickel and a minimum of 2,500,000 wmt of nickel ore in 2002.
Antam also reported a decrease in gold production, from 1,123 kilograms in the second quarter of 2001 to 869 kilograms in the second quarter of 2002.
The company said the decrease was due to combination of lower than expected grade and less ore milled.
In terms of the targets for 2002 Antam estimates it will reach 95 percent of its ore production, resulting in gold production of 3,485 kg, or 85 percent of the target and silver of approximately 20,700 kg or 90 percent of the target for the year.(alex/robert)