A worker at a Base Titanium Mining site in Kwale. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NMG
Australian mining firm Base Resources recorded a 26.1 percent
jump in the value of titanium exports from its Kwale mine to Sh7 billion
in the quarter ended June, helped by higher prices of the commodity in
the international markets.
Sales in the same period
last year stood at Sh5.5 billion, with the higher selling prices more
than compensating for reduced production and shipments.
The
improved sales will result in higher earnings for the government which
is paid royalties at the rate of 2.5 percent of the export values.
The
volume of exports of the minerals, including zircon, rutile and
Ilmenite, dropped 1.5 percent to 139,592 tonnes from 141,812 tonnes
after production declined 20 percent to 118,787 tonnes.
The
company says production and sales of the products do not always track
each other in any given quarter, with some minerals allowed to
accumulate before being exported.
In the review period,
production was down because output was interrupted for two weeks as the
company shifted its operations to the South Dune after exhausting
resources in the Central Dune where it started mining.
The multinational says it benefitted from higher prices of the commodities, a trend that is expected to hold in the short term.
“As
expected, constraints on the global supply of sulphate ilmenite and
high-grade chloride feedstocks (including rutile) have continued to have
an impact on the market and supported further positive price momentum,”
the multinational said in a trading update.
“Demand
for Base Resources ilmenite from existing customers remains greater than
the company’s ability to supply and enquiries are regularly being
received from potential new customers globally.”
Base
Resources says it realised average revenue per tonne of sales of $482
(Sh50,000) in the review period compared to $376 (Sh39,000) the year
before, representing an increase of 28.1 percent.
The shift to the South Dune will see the company access another resource estimate of 114 million tonnes.
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