A planned move to a lower-grade orebody and the uncertainties of mining a new orebody have led African mineral sands producer Base Resources to reduce production guidance for the coming year at its Kwale operations in Kenya.
Base posted production for the year to June (FY22) of 74,349t (FY21: 73,248t) rutile, 325,148t (317,276t) ilmenite and 25,557t (27,122t) zircon, meeting guidance for each.
With mining due to begin in the lower-grade Kwale North Dune orebody in March 2023, it forecasts FY23 guidance to be 62,000-73,000t rutile, 260,000-310,000t ilmenite and 22,000-27,000t zircon.