Noventa hit by Marropino delays

Noventa (NVTA) shares dipped on Thursday as it updated investors on delays to operations at the Marropino site.

"During the past 10 days a series of tropical storms bringing heavy rainfall and very high winds have affected Mozambique, and specifically the Zambezia province where the Marropino mine is located, causing extensive flooding and damage to infrastructure," Noventa said in a note.

The impact meant that progress on phase 2 commissioning has been delayed and the board currently anticipates that it will now start in March, rather than between the end of January and mid-February.

In addition, production of contained Ta2O5 has been affected by the recent poor weather and the ongoing process of commissioning the new plant. As a result, January 2012 production was limited to approximately 3,675 pounds of contained Ta2O5.

Noventa explained that the effects of the storms, and Cyclone Funso in particular, have been felt at Marropino, with strong winds causing some damage to buildings and some localised flooding causing minor disruptions to ongoing operations.

Pestilence is also a problem as the cyclone has in recent days brought with it a plague of rove beetles, which are very poisonous and can cause severe skin and eye irritations.

This has affected almost a third of the Marropino workforce, including on-site contractors, and pesticide spraying is being used to eradicate the infestation.

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