Tin production at Penouta, the EU’s largest active tin mine, reached a record high in 2022 after successfully transitioning to open-pit mining.
Penouta, located in north-western Spain, has been in operation since 2018. Project owners, Strategic Minerals Europe (SME), were processing material at the B1 tailings pond before switching to open-pit mining early last year.
“With the successful transition to open pit mining… along with other operational improvements, we had a record year in terms of the production and quality of concentrates,” said Jaime Perez Branger, CEO of SME. The company achieved record tin concentrate production of 455 tonnes in 2022, rising 84% from 2021 pre-open-pit mining figures.
With an increase in concentrate grades to 70.4%, tin-in-concentrate production is estimated to have doubled year-on-year reaching around 325 tonnes.
This comes despite hindered operations throughout the year from adverse weather conditions in the summer and a malfunctioning primary mill in the final quarter. The company has since completed a significant overhaul of its primary mill in March 2023, believing this upgrade will renew the equipment’s useful lifetime and therefore increase production.
“While adverse weather conditions and macroeconomic headwinds made 2022 a challenging year, our strong production and improving margins highlight the successful application of our strategy.” Mr. Branger continues. The company expects to increase production further in 2023.
Our View: Since ITA’s visit to Penouta in May last year, Strategic Minerals has continued to successfully transition to open-pit mining. Record-high production is set to continue with higher production rates across the entire year.
It will be interesting to see how SME tackles the increasing operational costs associated with open-pit-mining. The company plans to set up a pilot plant to identify and separate industrial minerals – if successful, this will help reduce costs and increase cash flow.
