The US$1.36 million refurbishment has allowed the company to produce its own zinc and lead concentrates on site for the first time.

 

Managing director Brad Marwood said the upgrades were the realisation of a strategy developed when the company took on Plomosas in 2018, and would give CZL full control over both mining and processing for the first time.

 

The upgrades include a new 300 tonne per day ball mill, but CZL will initially operate at 100tpd, before looking to double that by year's end, when the plant's throughput is expected to rise from 3000t per month to 6000tpm. 

 

CZL said the refurbishment came in within budget, but took six weeks longer than expected due to the impacts of a severe second wave of COVID-19 and extreme winter weather conditions across Texas and Chihuahua which cut power supply and closed roads.

 

The company has sent its ore to the Aldama concentrator since mid-2019, and intends to continue to process at the third-party run plant until its run-of-mine stockpile inventory levels are normalised, giving it an income sugar hit.

 

Marwood believes the lead and zinc were heading into a stronger cycle, while concentrate treatment charges return to historically average levels of $159/t, almost half 2020's level.

 

CZL has stated resources of 122,300t zinc, 31,700 lead and 600,200oz silver last month, although 40% of 2020 plant feed was mined from outside its existing resource model.

 

It has invested in new equipment since its shift to owner mining, and aims to increase production from around 3300tpm.