Kombat on track to full recovery
Progress with underground mining
Once in full production, Trigon Namibia will create an expected minimum of 800 direct jobs.
Trigon Metals, a Canadian exploration and development company, has announced that the Kombat mine is set to resume underground copper production in the first half of the upcoming year.
Trigon started dewatering the underground mine last month. In the initial month of pumping, water levels have dropped by 157 meters, and the progress indicates that the shaft will be completely dewatered by the end of the year, Trigon said.
In August this year, Trigon successfully restarted copper concentrate production at the Kombat mine in Namibia. Towards the end of last month, it shipped its first copper concentrate product from Kombat, marking the beginning of cash flow from the operation.
On 11 October, Trigon achieved commercial production at Kombat, a major step forward in the company’s journey towards becoming a leading mid-tier copper producer.
Commercial production status is defined as operating at 70% of production capacity over a period of 30 consecutive days.
“Over the past 30 days, the mill has operated at 77.8% of capacity with average recoveries of 86% Cu, producing 650 tonnes of concentrate and Trigon’s concentrate product is being shipped to port daily,” the company said earlier this month.
‘Well underway’
In a statement on Wednesday, Trigon president and CEO Jed Richardson said: “Now that open pit mining has achieved commercial production, processing 1 000 tonnes of ore per day and shipping 250 tonnes of concentrate a week, it is important to understand work is well underway to expand the mill’s throughput and commence mining from the underground, leading to a tripling of production profile while lowering production costs and amplifying profitability.”
The mining fleet for underground mining is expected to begin to arrive in December 2023, providing sufficient time to prepare stopes and train staff before the planned start-up.
Trigon investor and local partner, Knowledge Katti, said the mine is a very important project for Namibia, especially the children from the Kombat community.
“Once in full production, Trigon Namibia will deliver sustainable benefits for years to come, including an expected minimum of 800 direct jobs,” Katti said.
Water
The supporting shareholders are all working together as a partnership to deliver positive outcomes for all our stakeholders, he continued, adding: “The project has already been instrumental in supplying underground water to the Namibian national water company.
“We anticipate this partnership continuing for the foreseeable future since we upgraded our infrastructure to be able to pump more water to the Omatako Dam.”
Trigon started dewatering the underground mine last month. In the initial month of pumping, water levels have dropped by 157 meters, and the progress indicates that the shaft will be completely dewatered by the end of the year, Trigon said.
In August this year, Trigon successfully restarted copper concentrate production at the Kombat mine in Namibia. Towards the end of last month, it shipped its first copper concentrate product from Kombat, marking the beginning of cash flow from the operation.
On 11 October, Trigon achieved commercial production at Kombat, a major step forward in the company’s journey towards becoming a leading mid-tier copper producer.
Commercial production status is defined as operating at 70% of production capacity over a period of 30 consecutive days.
“Over the past 30 days, the mill has operated at 77.8% of capacity with average recoveries of 86% Cu, producing 650 tonnes of concentrate and Trigon’s concentrate product is being shipped to port daily,” the company said earlier this month.
‘Well underway’
In a statement on Wednesday, Trigon president and CEO Jed Richardson said: “Now that open pit mining has achieved commercial production, processing 1 000 tonnes of ore per day and shipping 250 tonnes of concentrate a week, it is important to understand work is well underway to expand the mill’s throughput and commence mining from the underground, leading to a tripling of production profile while lowering production costs and amplifying profitability.”
The mining fleet for underground mining is expected to begin to arrive in December 2023, providing sufficient time to prepare stopes and train staff before the planned start-up.
Trigon investor and local partner, Knowledge Katti, said the mine is a very important project for Namibia, especially the children from the Kombat community.
“Once in full production, Trigon Namibia will deliver sustainable benefits for years to come, including an expected minimum of 800 direct jobs,” Katti said.
Water
The supporting shareholders are all working together as a partnership to deliver positive outcomes for all our stakeholders, he continued, adding: “The project has already been instrumental in supplying underground water to the Namibian national water company.
“We anticipate this partnership continuing for the foreseeable future since we upgraded our infrastructure to be able to pump more water to the Omatako Dam.”
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