Energy crisis took toll on Tara Mines
Boliden chief optimistic about future operations as company bounces back after 'pretty bad' Autumn
Operations at Tara Mines are “very sensitive” to movements in energy prices, according to Boliden chief executive Mikael Staffas.
Releasing full-year results last week, Mr Staffas said operations at Tara Mines looked “pretty bad” during the autumn as energy prices soared, but that the situation at the lead and zinc mine has since improved.
According to a report in the Irish Independent, Boliden’s expectation based on current reserves is that Tara Mines could continue at full production until 2028.
Boliden has been advancing the development of its so-called Tara Deep project at the Meath mine, with a view to bolstering its reserves.
The company said that at full production, current reserves would be depleted by 2027. However, it’s planning to spend tens of millions of euro to unlock the potential of Tara Deep, pushing the depth of the mine to as much as 1.9km.
Mr Staffas pointed out that the Tara operation is a “high-cost” mining facility and rising energy costs had been a problem. “If I want to be frank, it looked, pretty bad for a while in the fall. It looks better now.
“We are managing to handle exactly what it would mean for our cost position.
“There are more things to this – there are also things on the revenue side, and of course premiums and so on play into this picture.”
During last year, Tara Mines recorded a higher milled volume of zinc ore, but at a lower grade.
The mining operation has been attempting to reach higher-grade stopes, or tunnel areas, in the mine.
Mr Staffas said that Tara Mines’ production is improving from a “low level”.
“We’re still waiting to get into the really good stopes to make up the grade, but we’re working on that,” he added.
Boliden’s revenue last year jumped 26pc to €7.7bn as metal prices pushed higher. Its operating profit rose 43pc to €1.4bn, while its net profit was up 42pc at €1.1bn.
The latest set of publicly available accounts for Tara Mines show that it made a €19.8m profit in 2021, compared to a €29m loss in 2020.