Price Rises Boost Kenmare Mine Revenue

2012-01-26

Jan. 25, 2012 - Kenmare Resources has reported a big rise in revenue last year from metal production at its Moma mine in Mozambique.
In a trading update, it said it shipped 730,400 tonnes of finished products from the mine last year, up from 712,900 in 2010. This brought in revenue of $167.5m, up 83% from 2010's $91.6m.
Kenmare said production was not as high as expected last year due to a band of clay-rich ore in the mine path. It said a new system had been installed and commissioned to deal with this issue.
During the final quarter of 2011, production was up 15% from the previous quarter to 225,600 tonnes.
The company said demand for its products was robust during 2011 and prices grew strongly. The market price for ilmenite increased three to four fold, and zircon prices more than doubled.
Kenmare said that, despite a slowdown in demand towards the end of the year, Chinese economic growth was still expected to be strong, supporting prices for its products.