Throughout 2005 the Lac des Iles Mill experienced numerous setbacks in its operations.  Production totaled 177,167 ounces of palladium, compared to 308,931 in 2004. Ore processed in 2005 was 4,780,599 at an average palladium feed grade of 1.66 grams per tonne and an average palladium recovery of 69.6 %. Other metal production in 2005 included 18,833 ounces of platinum, 14,308 ounces of gold, 5,514,670 pounds of copper, and 2,353,227 pounds of nickel.  The lower production is primarily attributable to issues the milling team faced with the ball mills, chutes and transfers, and near the end of the year problems with the primary crusher.  These equipment problems have since been addressed and the mill is operating at historical levels.

 

Mill Production Stats

Mill Production Summary
	Year	2005	2004	2003	2002
Mill throughput	Tonnes	4,780,599	5,298,544	5,159,730	4,851,621
Pd Head Grade	g/t	1.66	2.41	2.31	1.91
Pd Recovery	%	69.6	75.1	75.5	73.8
Pd Ounces Produced	oz	177,167	308,931	288,703	219,325
Pt Ounces Produced	oz	18,833	25,128	23,742	19,180
Au Ounces Produced	oz	14,308	25,679	23,356	16,030
Ni Pounds Produced	lbs	2,353,227	4,320,970	4,070,785	2,763,654
Cu Pounds Produced	lbs	5,514,670	7,836,183	7,142,674	5,295,486