Van Dieman Mines has issued a new update on plans for its two mine projects in Tasmania. The Scotia and Endurance projects, with a combined planned capacity of some 1,300 tpy have been the subject of a major operational review and are not now expected to in commercial production until 2009.
In a statement the company said that “production at Scotia is expected to commence in December 2008, with ramp up to full production achieved in January 2009.” The company “is actively reviewing ways to significantly increase production rate and reduce production risk at Scotia following commissioning. The key components of the potential expanded production are access to multiple mining sites, increasing plant efficiency and throughput, and increasing mining and plant operating hours. All three of these are currently being addressed, and the Company is confident of a positive outcome.” The Endurance Project is now expected to commence production around mid 2009.
