The first full month of production will be October.
This decision reportedly is due to a recovery in the world tungsten prices and is supported by an upgraded operational and financing plan which have been developed to support the re-start of operations at the mine, which is 100% owned by the company.
According to the company, the tungsten market has reached a current price of US$240 per metric tonne unit of tungsten raw material ammonium paratungstate (APT) – compared to the low of US$185 realized during the economic crisis. Constrained supply, low customer inventory levels, and renewed demand have all contributed to this significant price increase over the past eight months.
While production was suspected, the company reviewed operational systems in the mine and mill in order to improve operational efficiency and reduce direct costs.
"During this period while Cantung was under care and maintenance, our tungsten team worked diligently to identify operational improvements that would support restart of the mine,” said NTC's CEO Stephen Leahy.
The company has negotiated off-take agreements with several customers that will guarantee sales for a high proportion of its planned output. "Management is pleased with the terms we concluded, including advance payments and increased length for each of the individual agreements,” added Leahy. “The company is confident that it has sufficient financing available to meet all its restart obligations."