Weatherly ahead of schedule at Tsumeb

WEATHERLY International, the company that took over operations at Ongopolo, has announced that it will commission the Tsumeb concentrator ahead of schedule to take full advantage of current copper prices.

The Tsumeb concentrator, one of three feeding the company’s smelter at Tsumeb, is expected to resume operations in May, ahead of the June target date. “It will be fed by two mines in the Tsumeb area: initially Tsumeb West, which has been stockpiling ore for the past month, followed by Tschudi, which is nearing production.Until now, Weatherly’s copper production has been from only two mines, Otjihase and Matchless, both located in the Windhoek area,” Weatherly announced yesterday.Commencement of operations at Tsumeb will be the first major step towards raising copper output above existing levels.Ongopolo was on the verge of bankruptcy when Weatherly rescued the company through a N$120 million deal.Ongopolo has already started to develop a new underground mine, Asis Far West, to replace the declining Kombat mine.An 800-metre shaft has been sunk at Asis Far West and lateral development to the main ore body is underway.Other development projects include the Tsumeb West and Tschudi mines.Weatherly also has a number of promising exploration projects, including copper deposits at Gross Otavi Central and below the Farm Berg Aukas lead/zinc mine; Harasib, where three zones of lead and zinc mineralisation have been delineated; and an interest in the Valencia uranium deposit in western Namibia.The Tsumeb copper smelter, comprising three furnaces, is a key asset for Weatherly.The current operating capacity of the first smelter is 24 000 to 32 000 tonnes a year, while the second, larger copper furnace and the zinc furnace require refurbishment.Weatherly intends to examine the feasibility of expanding Ongopolo’s smelting capacity significantly in the future, which could eventually enable it to process much larger volumes of ore from other mining companies in the region, and potentially from its own extensive Luanshya deposit in Zambia.”It will be fed by two mines in the Tsumeb area: initially Tsumeb West, which has been stockpiling ore for the past month, followed by Tschudi, which is nearing production.Until now, Weatherly’s copper production has been from only two mines, Otjihase and Matchless, both located in the Windhoek area,” Weatherly announced yesterday.Commencement of operations at Tsumeb will be the first major step towards raising copper output above existing levels.Ongopolo was on the verge of bankruptcy when Weatherly rescued the company through a N$120 million deal.Ongopolo has already started to develop a new underground mine, Asis Far West, to replace the declining Kombat mine.An 800-metre shaft has been sunk at Asis Far West and lateral development to the main ore body is underway.Other development projects include the Tsumeb West and Tschudi mines.Weatherly also has a number of promising exploration projects, including copper deposits at Gross Otavi Central and below the Farm Berg Aukas lead/zinc mine; Harasib, where three zones of lead and zinc mineralisation have been delineated; and an interest in the Valencia uranium deposit in western Namibia.The Tsumeb copper smelter, comprising three furnaces, is a key asset for Weatherly.The current operating capacity of the first smelter is 24 000 to 32 000 tonnes a year, while the second, larger copper furnace and the zinc furnace require refurbishment.Weatherly intends to examine the feasibility of expanding Ongopolo’s smelting capacity significantly in the future, which could eventually enable it to process much larger volumes of ore from other mining companies in the region, and potentially from its own extensive Luanshya deposit in Zambia.