Manganese output at Brazil Manganese Corporation (BMC), a JV in Brazil between Cancana Resources and Ferrometals BV, rose 107 percent in Q1, year-on-year, according to information released by Cancana.
BMC’s manganese output rose to 2,558 mt in Q1, from 1,237 mt reported in the same quarter of the previous year. According to Cancana, Q1’s production volume includes output from BMC’s two mines in the state of Roraima: Rio Madeira and Jaburi.
BMC’s shipped sales in Q1 reached 4,354 mt, a 15-fold increase, year-on-year.
“BMC has started 2016 where we left off in 2015 and continues to achieve sales and production growth compared to the comparative quarter from the prior year. Our sales figures are steadily increasing while production has outperformed the comparative quarter, despite the wet season closure of Rio Madeira for infrastructure improvements,” said the JV’s CEO, Anthony Julien.
Cancana added BMC completed in Q1 a new water reservoir, tailing ponds and water recycling improvements, which will “remove the water supply constraints that had limited the Rio Madeira production capacity.”
It also relocated and rebuilt the electrical generating plant and electrical feed lines to “ensure a safe and reliable supply of electricity.” Plant improvements also included an overhaul of the trommel and scrubber and the installation of a new feeder, it noted, adding Rio Madeira is currently fully operational.
As for its Jaburi mine, BMC operated the two new jigs installed during December 2015, which are said to have “greatly increased reliability and enabled a consistent throughput.”