September 1
Copper producer China Daye Non-ferrous Metals Mining, which was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year, has raised its production target for the year after posting a net loss during the first half. Located near the initial coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan, the company is expected to ensure 510,000t of copper cathode production this year, up from the 505,000t annual target that was set in March this year. The company was quoted by Reuters as saying in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange: “We will increase daily as well as monthly production to recover the losses [that] resulted from the epidemic.”
The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has launched a media campaign in the lead-up to the State Election to emphasise the economic and job creation importance of the mining and gas industry to the State’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the campaign, which will run for four weeks, was launched in response to worsening economic conditions. Queensland’s unemployment rate is Australia’s highest, at 8.8%.
Zimbabwe-based platinum mining company Zimplats has announced that the Covid-19 pandemic did not have any impact on its operations and the company posted a 38% increase in revenue for the full year ending 30 June. The company’s total production of six elements comprising platinum, palladium, rhodium, gold, ruthenium and iridium also increased marginally from 579,591 ounces last year to 580,178 ounces in the full year to June this year. Zimplats was quoted by Xinhua as saying that the mitigation measures implemented in response to the pandemic have so far been successful as no positive cases were recorded among its employees and contractors during the year.