Melior Provides Update on Goondicum Project Commissioning and Production Ramp-Up Ahead of Full Commercial Production in June
TORONTO, April 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Melior Resources Inc. (TSXV: “MLR”) (“Melior” or the “Company”) today updated the market about progress at its Goondicum Ilmenite Project.
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Commissioning and production ramp-up at Goondicum continued successfully through February and March. Ilmenite production was 4,440 tonnes in February and 7,860 tonnes in March against budget goals of 7,900 tonnes and 9,320 tonnes respectively. March’s total is the highest monthly production to date and representative of higher monthly production anticipated in the future. Apatite production was 444 tonnes in February and 1,210 tonnes in March. The production budget was designed more than a year ago to provide a realistic guide to the ramp-up of production at Goondicum to more than 10,000 tonnes of ilmenite a month, upon which, commercial production is forecast to commence. Management is confident of reaching these goals by the end of the June quarter 2019. These figures are preliminary and subject to adjustment based on end of month inventory and metallurgical accounting reconciliations.
Cumulative ilmenite production since the start of commissioning is 22,740 tonnes against a budget of 23,720 tonnes. Apatite production has significantly lagged budget, however, this is now steadily improving.
No Lost Time Incidents were recorded during February and March.
The first cargo of Goondicum ilmenite, 17,600 tonnes destined for China, was successfully shipped during March.
Mark McCauley, Melior’s CEO, said, “Project commissioning is a time to fine tune processes, maximize efficiencies, and identify areas needing improvement in preparation for commercial production. The Goondicum team has worked diligently to optimize operations and we believe that we are poised to successfully enter commercial production. February production fell short of budget due to the failure of an electrical component as well as a temporary halt in operations to allow the modification of certain aspects of the newly installed circuits. A particular focus of the modifications was to ensure that the plant will be able to consistently produce Goondicum AA specification ilmenite which is a premium, high margin product and considerably enhances the financial performance of the project. This work is delivering positive results with recent ilmenite quality continuing to improve and getting close to the required specification. Most importantly, the project remains on trajectory to becoming cash positive in the June quarter of FY2019.”
Future production updates will be provided on a quarterly basis in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis releases.
Tables accompanying this announcement are available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b7b11066-83a0-42e6-bfe3-c574fae8a55c
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6c5c1ebf-35f9-42d9-9117-77afdf966390
Project Photos
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ac7166d2-a42c-4af1-ba41-61cf53c42e2a
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2858ff2a-bbb7-4a9b-beae-fbe2b81ec5df
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e18acb1c-2795-4e3b-b478-ca845c86340e
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2c3cec8d-fa73-4a06-bc1f-df24cfbecc20
About Melior
Melior is the owner and operator of the Goondicum ilmenite and apatite mine located in Queensland, Australia. Further details on Melior and the Goondicum mine can be found at www.meliorresources.com and regulatory filings are available on SEDAR. Melior is incorporated under the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) and has a registered office in Vancouver, British Columbia. Melior is classified as a Tier 1 Mining Issuer under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.
The expectations outlined in this press release regarding the Goondicum mine represent the information contained in the PEA prepared independently by TZ Minerals International Pty Ltd. for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) and rely, in part, on inferred resources. As a result, the PEA is subject to increased uncertainty and technical and economic risks of mine failure and there can be no assurance that the report’s expectations will be achieved.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty the PEA will be realized. Shareholders are strongly encouraged to refer to the complete updated Technical Report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 in respect of the Goondicum mine, which includes the results of the PEA described in this news release, which has been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company’s profile on August 30, 2018.
Forward Looking Statements Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws that reflects the current expectations of management of Melior regarding the production ramp up of the Goondicum mine. The words “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “aim”, “endeavour”, “project”, “continue”, “predict”, “potential”, or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements and include, but are not limited to statements regarding anticipated production, timing for first ilmenite shipment and haulage and target production rates. Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond management’s control, and that could cause actual results to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those expected or estimated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Risks, assumptions and uncertainties regarding Melior and the forward looking information herein are described in its publicly available disclosure documents including the Technical Report, as filed by Melior on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) except as updated herein. This forward-looking information represents management’s views as of the date of this press release. While subsequent events and developments may cause such views to change, Melior does not intend to update this forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities laws.
For further information please contact:
MELIOR RESOURCES INC.
Mark McCauley
Chief Executive Officer
+61 7 3233 6300
mark.mccauley@meliorresources.com
Investor Relations
Andreas Curkovic Proconsul Capital
+1-416-577-9927
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
