Kombat digs deep (again)

At the Kombat mine, May was marked by several record-breaking underground mining days, leading to a production average of 12.1 tonnes of copper per day, Trigon Metals said.

Underground ore mined for the month totalled 19 664 tonnes at an average grade of 2.16%, leading to the production of 386 tonnes of copper. Trigon acknowledged its dedicated Namibian team for this outstanding achievement.

Further to the announcement of commercial production from its underground mine on 23 May, the company reported that the underground mine had continued to perform and exceed the production targets defined in its feasibility study.

Trigon's focus for the financial year 2025 remains on underground production from the Asis West underground complex, it said. Underground production is expected to amount to between 250 000 and 280 000 ore tonnes mined for the financial year, at an average grade of between 1.95% and 2.3% copper.

From the ore mined, Trigon projects its copper metal production to range between 5 500 tonnes and 6 100 tonnes for the year. Cash costs are expected to average between US$2.80/pound to US$3.15/pound for the full year, reducing on a quarter-by-quarter basis as production is ramped up to steady state, Trigon said.



Maximising underground production

Rennie Morkel, Trigon president and chief operating officer, said: “We are exceptionally pleased with the accelerated ramp-up of the underground mine and thank our Namibian team for their hard work and ongoing efforts at Kombat".

"Our strategy for the upcoming fiscal year is focused on maximising underground production from the current mining areas as well as to ensure that we are establishing ourselves for the next phases of our growth trajectory, both at Asis West and in terms of the planned restart of Asis Far West," he added.

Entrepreneur Knowledge Katti, whose Texel Mining and Exploration carries a 10% stake in the Kombat mine, was ecstatic over the mine's performance. When approached for comment, he said: "We are delighted at the vindication of our tireless journey, which started on a bumpy note a decade ago. This unprecedented level of performance is already competitively contributing to the Namibian economy and touching thousands of Namibian lives positively".

He added: "We consider our government a key stakeholder and our continued appeal is for improved investment in basic infrastructure in and around Kombat, which has become a budding locality thanks to the ongoing successful mining activity. The spin-offs of such state interventions would be invaluable to the local community".

Local director at Trigon Namibia Jeremy Hangula added: "We are excited about the ever-improving production outcomes and the positive prospects for the year ahead. This is all down to the tireless efforts of our employees at the mine".



Commercial production

Trigon achieved commercial production from the underground operations at its Kombat mine in Namibia as of 30 April. The company defines commercial production status as operating at 70% of production capacity over 30 consecutive days.

After restarting mining operations from the open pit in May 2023, Trigon commenced production from underground ahead of schedule, having announced underground training and the first blast on 5 February. The build-up to commercial production levels has gone smoothly and exceeded Trigon management’s expectations.

At the time, Morkel said: “Congratulations to our homegrown owner-operated underground mining teams. Re-asserting Kombat as an underground copper producing mine is a tremendous achievement for the operation, the company and our community. Going forward, we will look for opportunities to grow production from underground, which - in turn - should increase our copper production and our profitability. My sincerest appreciation to the entire Kombat team, under the guidance of our vice-president of operations, Fanie Muller, for their tireless efforts in achieving this important milestone for the future of Kombat".



Profound impact

Jed Richardson, CEO and executive chairman, said at the time: “Increased grade from underground has profoundly impacted our metal production, making each tonne more profitable. It has improved recovery in the mill and increased the grade of the concentrate. The Kombat mine has been primarily an underground mine through its 45-year history. Our experience is now showing us why".

The Kombat mine was previously in operation back in 2007. By April this year, production from the underground averaged 552 tonnes per day and has continued to exceed expectations, producing more than 1 000 tone per day on four occasions in the month of May, the company said.

Ore processing occurs at the refurbished Kombat plant, with a current operating capacity of 30 000 tonnes per month. Plans are underway to increase the capacity to 60 000 tonnes per month to accommodate ore from both underground and surface sources.

Dewatering continues at the Kombat mine, where water is being pumped at a rate of 2 800 cubic metres an hour, well above the in-flow rate of 1200 cubic metres an hour, according to Trigon. The mine is now dewatered to 315 metres below shaft collar. Back-up power capacity is in place to ensure an uninterrupted power supply for underground pump systems, the miner assured.