Nevsun Zinc Flotation Plant Ready, Starts Ore Commissioning

Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TO:NSU) said that it has completed the new zinc flotation plant at its Bisha mine in Eritrea. The new zinc flotation plant adds to the already existing copper flotation and Bisha will continue to produce both copper and zinc for the remaining current nine-year primary reserve life. The company also commenced ore commissioning of the combined plant on Jun 6.

The zinc plant expansion was completed on time and under budget. The company expects to attain commercial production before the end of the third quarter. The Bisha zinc expansion project will produce on an average about 100,000 tons (225 million pounds) of zinc and 20,000 tons (45 million pounds) of copper per year, for the next 9 years from mid-2016.

There is no requirement for additional transport or shipping infrastructure upgrades since the total tonnage of copper and zinc concentrate produced is anticipated to be similar to total copper concentrate quantities in 2015. Also, the project has excess capacity to absorb additional feed that might come from additional deposits without yet defined mineral reserves from Bisha deeps, Harena or Asheli.

Bisha has started hot commissioning to ramp up the plant and produce combinations of various copper, zinc and bulk concentrates until it transitions to commercial production later, with the utilization of primary ore. The commissioning process, which will allow the company to optimize its plant efficiency and maximize copper and zinc recoveries in their respective concentrates, is expected to be complete in three months.

Nevsun estimates the project cost to be less than $80 million against a budget of $100 million.

Nevsun carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked companies in the mining space include Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE:SCCO) , Pretium Resources Inc. (TO:PVG) and KAZ Minerals plc KZMYY. While Southern Copper sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Pretium and KAZ Minerals carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).