STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE
11 February 2010 at 6:00 am UK / 8:00 am Finland
Production stoppage at hydrogen plant due to catalyst failure
Bioheapleaching progressing ahead of budget
Talvivaara Mining Company Plc ("Talvivaara" or the "Company") announces that a
production stoppage in metals recovery is ongoing due to a catalyst failure at
the hydrogen plant. This is anticipated to defer, depending on the eventual
length of the stoppage, around 1,000 tonnes or more of the planned nickel
production from Q1 2010 until later in the year. Talvivaara's operations are
covered by customary insurance policies against property damage and business
interruption.
Talvivaara's operating personnel detected elevated temperatures in some of the
hydrogen plant's reform tubes at the end of January 2010. Following consultation
with the manufacturer, the plant was shut down for inspection and to avoid
further damage. Subsequent investigations revealed that the sudden increase in
temperature was caused by impurities in the propane that was used as the raw
material for hydrogen production. The high temperatures, in turn, damaged the
catalyst in the reform tubes. It was concluded that, as a corrective measure,
all of the catalyst inside the reform tubes had to be replaced.
New catalyst material has now been delivered at the mine site and is being
installed. Re-start of the hydrogen plant and the Company's metals precipitation
is anticipated to take place by the end of next week.
The Company believes that some or all of the production deferred as a result of
the hydrogen plant failure can be caught up during Q2 2010 thanks to recent
bioheapleaching performance which has exceeded the budgeted levels by more than
20%. In December 2009 and January 2010, nickel grade in the solution fed to the
metals recovery plant remained around 1.2 g/l, reflecting a large proportion of
the heap being newly stacked and still precipitating rather than releasing
metals. Following completion of stacking of the second heap section in early
January 2010, all of the existing heap is now reaching a steady leaching phase
and the nickel grade in solution available for metals recovery has quickly risen
to 1.8 g/l. The increase in grade being achieved supports the Company's view
that it can obtain the higher rates of recovery required to reach the existing
2010 production target. The Company will continue monitoring and reporting the
progress in the bioheapleaching process and the development of production
volumes against the given guidance.
Enquiries:
Talvivaara Mining Company Plc tel. +358 20 712 9800
Pekka Perä, CEO
Saila Miettinen-Lähde, CFO
About Talvivaara Mining Company plc
Talvivaara Mining Company aims to become an internationally significant base
metals producer with its primary focus on nickel and zinc using a technology
known as bioheapleaching to extract metals out of ore. Bioheapleaching makes
extraction of metals from low grade ore economically viable. The Talvivaara
deposits comprise one of the largest known sulphide nickel resources in Europe.
The ore body is sufficient to support anticipated production for at least 46
years. Talvivaara has secured a 10-year off-take agreement for 100 per cent of
its main output of nickel and cobalt to Norilsk Nickel and signed a long-term
zinc streaming agreement with Nyrstar NV. Talvivaara is listed on the London
Stock Exchange Main Market and NASDAQ OMX Helsinki and is included in the FTSE
250 Index. Further information can be found at www.talvivaara.com.
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