London Mining starts Marampa iron ore output

Fri Dec 2, 2011

* First shipment on track for end of 2011
* Receives first prepayment from Glencore

LONDON Dec 2 (Reuters) - London Mining Plc said it has started production of iron ore from its Marampa operation in Sierra Leone and that the first shipment is on track to be completed by the end of this year.

Production will ramp up during the first half of 2012 to over 160,000 tonnes a month, with 1.8 million tonnes of production still targeted for 2012.

"The production of high specification iron ore product from our plant at Marampa after decades of mine inactivity marks the beginning of our Phase 1 ramp up and forms the basis for our phased expansions to 16 Mtpa (million tonnes per annum)," said Chief Executive Graeme Hossie.

The miner said it has received its first prepayment from Glencore for its scheduled December shipment and expects to receive a further prepayment for its January shipment later this month.

(sourced Reuters)