Meridian Mining, formerly known as Brazil Manganese Corporation (BMC), said manganese production at its Espigao do Oeste mine, located in the city of same name in the Brazilian state of Rondonia, reached 5,530 mt in Q1.
The company said the output volume represents a 127 percent increase over the same quarter of the year prior.
However, when compared to Q4 2016, manganese production at the Espigao do Oeste site decreased due to the “rainy season” in the state of Rondonia, Meridian Mining said, without providing comparative quarter-on-quarter data.
“In early March, operations at the Jaburi plant were temporarily suspended so that the installation of the new jigging equipment for the pilot plant could proceed. The expanded pilot plant will introduce more efficient jigging and improved water utilization, along with the ability to crush and process the primary mineralized material,” the company added.
The pilot plant should be commissioned early in Q2 2017 and bring total production capacity at the Espigao project to 50,000 mt/year, the company said.
Meridian said manganese oxide mineral sales in Q1 rose from 4,404 mt in Q1 2016 to 12,871 mt in Q1 this year.
“Sales in the quarter were for a range of specialty applications including fertilizer and steel production. Higher manganese spot prices in the first quarter of 2017 made it possible to sell product to international customers in Asia. Approximately half of the product sold in first quarter of 2017 went to international customers,” the company noted.