Australia-headquartered NQ Minerals’s Heyllyer Gold Mine produced 8,127mt of lead concentrate and 4,609mt of zinc concentrate in the March ending quarter.
The company’s mining activities were marked as “essential” by the Tasmanian government amid the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Lead production for the quarter was up by 72pc from the year prior, and zinc was up by 53pc.
The increase in production could be designated to Heyller implementing programmes to increase plant throughput during the quarter. This resulted in a systematic increase in average production rate from 110mt per hour to 122mt per hour by quarter end, a 10pc growth in daily production rates. The company stated that a further increase in production rate is planned for the next quarter. The company aims to raise production to 1.2mn mt annually.
| Metal Concentrates (mt) | Q12020 | Q1 2019 | Pc Growth |
| Lead | 8,127 | 4,712 | 72% |
| Zinc | 4,609 | 3,015 | 53% |
Base metals have been under pressure due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. The company is hopeful that with China resuming operations, metal demand will increase. The company also said that it has dispatched 28,000mt of concentrates from the port of Burnie on April 3. The company did not reveal the destination of the shipment.
The company made an official statement saying that the mine recorded an excellent quarter despite the COVID-19 situation.