Titan achieves record zinc production at U.S. mine
Titan Mining Corp. [TI-TSX] said its flagship Empire State Mine produced a record 61 million pounds of payable zinc in 2023, marking a 16% increase from 2022.
“As we enter 2024, our plans are to continue the upward trajectory on production while improving our safety performance,’’ said Titan Mining President and CEO Don Taylor.
Titan shares advanced on the news, rising 1.8% or $0.005 to 28.5 cents. The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of 65 cents and 24 cents.
In a press release containing the company’s results for the year ended December 31, 2023, Taylor said he is pleased that the Empire State mine posted the safest year of operations on record since reopening, with an injury frequency rate of 0.7, or 70% below the national average.
Titan holds a 100% interest in the Empire State Mine, which is located in upstate New York. The underground mine and mill complex consists of a group of high-grade mines – ESM#4 which is in production, and six historic mines. ESM #4 restarted mining operations in January, 2018, and began producing zinc concentrate in March, 2018. The mining operation is targeting production from multiple zones, including Mahler, New Fold and Mud Pond.
The ESM #1, #2 and #3, Hyatt, Pierrepont and Edwards mines are all located within a 45-kilometre radius of the 5,000 tonnes per day mill.
Production guidance for 2024 is estimated at between 56-60 million pounds of payable zinc at an all-in-sustaining cost of between US$1.04 and US$1.10 a pound. However, the company said cost targets are highly dependent on treatment charges which won’t be known until the end of the first half of 2024.
In other highlights, Titan said it has begun work to further define the Kilbourne graphite trend, a graphite exploration target hosted within the same stratigraphic sequence as the Empire State Mine’s zinc mineralization. The company said mapping and drilling have documented 8.2 kilometres of strike length to a depth of one kilometre from surface. Approximately 2.5 kilometres of this strike length is within the affected area of the Empire State mine and is covered by current permitting. The remaining strike length is securely within mineral rights held by the mine.
Drilling began in December, 2023, with eight holes covering 2,074 feet completed to date with an additional 10,000 feet scheduled for 2024, the company has said.
Graphite an industrial mineral that has long been associated with steel manufacturing, lead pencils and golf clubs, but is now a key ingredient used in the production of electric vehicles.
Graphite is the anode material in a lithium-ion battery and is the single largest component by weight. There are no substitutes, and almost all of it comes from China
Meanwhile, Titan reported a net loss of US$10.2 million or $0.07 per share in 2023. Revenue in 2023 was US$52.09 million. The average realized zinc price for the year was U$1.19 per pound.