Production at Tara Mines slips

OUTPUT FROM Tara Mines dropped in the second quarter of this year compared with the same quarter in 2007, according to a statement…

OUTPUT FROM Tara Mines dropped in the second quarter of this year compared with the same quarter in 2007, according to a statement from its Swedish parent company Boliden.

The company's interim report for the first six months of the year showed that zinc production at Tara fell due to an imbalance between the mine's development, the extraction of waste rock in order to access the ore bodies, and production.

"Production was also disrupted in conjunction with trade union negotiations held during the quarter," it said. "Production is expected to fall slightly over the next six to nine months."

The mine produced an equivalent to 44,436 tonnes of zinc metal in the second quarter, down 12 per cent from a year ago. Lead output fell 25 per cent to 5,232 tonnes.

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Zinc production for the first six months at Tara fell by 7 per cent to 96,695, while production of lead fell by 11 per cent to 12,288 tonnes.

Lower zinc prices and a weaker US dollar reduced revenues at Boliden, according to its interim report. However, it said that this was partially countered by higher lead and precious metal prices.

Zinc prices have fallen by 42 per cent from the second quarter of 2007, according to Boliden.

This will have implications for profits at Tara Mines which posted a 500 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to €175 million in 2006. However, president and chief executive of Boliden Lennart Evrell said that a short-term oversupply of zinc is having a negative impact on prices. "In the short term, we will struggle at Tara," he said.

Mr Evrell also said that Tara was more vulnerable to zinc-price fluctuations than other mines Boliden operated because it relied on zinc whereas its other mines had mixed ores.