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2010-02-11 07:00:00 CET 2010-02-11 07:03:09 CET REGULATED INFORMATION Talvivaaran Kaivososakeyhtiö Oyj - Company AnnouncementProduction stoppage at hydrogen plant due to catalyst failure / Bioheapleaching progressing ahead of budgetSTOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 11 February 2010 at 6:00 am UK / 8:00 am Finland Production stoppage at hydrogen plant due to catalyst failure Bioheapleaching progressing ahead of budget Talvivaara Mining Company Plc ("Talvivaara" or the "Company") announces that a production stoppage in metals recovery is ongoing due to a catalyst failure at the hydrogen plant. This is anticipated to defer, depending on the eventual length of the stoppage, around 1,000 tonnes or more of the planned nickel production from Q1 2010 until later in the year. Talvivaara's operations are covered by customary insurance policies against property damage and business interruption. Talvivaara's operating personnel detected elevated temperatures in some of the hydrogen plant's reform tubes at the end of January 2010. Following consultation with the manufacturer, the plant was shut down for inspection and to avoid further damage. Subsequent investigations revealed that the sudden increase in temperature was caused by impurities in the propane that was used as the raw material for hydrogen production. The high temperatures, in turn, damaged the catalyst in the reform tubes. It was concluded that, as a corrective measure, all of the catalyst inside the reform tubes had to be replaced. New catalyst material has now been delivered at the mine site and is being installed. Re-start of the hydrogen plant and the Company's metals precipitation is anticipated to take place by the end of next week. The Company believes that some or all of the production deferred as a result of the hydrogen plant failure can be caught up during Q2 2010 thanks to recent bioheapleaching performance which has exceeded the budgeted levels by more than 20%. In December 2009 and January 2010, nickel grade in the solution fed to the metals recovery plant remained around 1.2 g/l, reflecting a large proportion of the heap being newly stacked and still precipitating rather than releasing metals. Following completion of stacking of the second heap section in early January 2010, all of the existing heap is now reaching a steady leaching phase and the nickel grade in solution available for metals recovery has quickly risen to 1.8 g/l. The increase in grade being achieved supports the Company's view that it can obtain the higher rates of recovery required to reach the existing 2010 production target. The Company will continue monitoring and reporting the progress in the bioheapleaching process and the development of production volumes against the given guidance. Enquiries: Talvivaara Mining Company Plc tel. +358 20 712 9800 Pekka Perä, CEO Saila Miettinen-Lähde, CFO About Talvivaara Mining Company plc Talvivaara Mining Company aims to become an internationally significant base metals producer with its primary focus on nickel and zinc using a technology known as bioheapleaching to extract metals out of ore. Bioheapleaching makes extraction of metals from low grade ore economically viable. The Talvivaara deposits comprise one of the largest known sulphide nickel resources in Europe. The ore body is sufficient to support anticipated production for at least 46 years. Talvivaara has secured a 10-year off-take agreement for 100 per cent of its main output of nickel and cobalt to Norilsk Nickel and signed a long-term zinc streaming agreement with Nyrstar NV. Talvivaara is listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market and NASDAQ OMX Helsinki and is included in the FTSE 250 Index. Further information can be found at www.talvivaara.com. [HUG#1383260] |
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