OM Holdings’ Qinzhou Smelter in China achieved record production of 27,276 tonnes of high carbon ferro manganese in the first half of 2008.

As demand for alloys continues to increase the first half result is expected to lead to record annual production of about 41,000 tonnes of alloy by the end of the year.

The Qinzhou result helped contribute to OM Holdings’ record half year net profit of Aus$97 million as the company continued to reap the benefits of the continued strength of the global manganese market.

OM Holdings’ CEO Low Ngee Tong says the result was achieved on a 122% increase in sales revenue to Aus$285.2 million, driven by a combination of record production from the Bootu Creek Manganese Mine in Australia and favourable price trends for manganese ore and alloys.

Consolidated operating cash flows from the group’s manganese mining, processing and trading operations in Australia , China and Singapore increased to Aus$50.8 million for the six month period, compared to Aus$4.0 million for the previous corresponding half.

Low Ngee Tong says: “This is a very significant milestone for OM Holdings and is a credit to the focus and hard work of everyone within all facets of our international organization.

“This outstanding result, combined with a strong outlook moving forward, provides a very strong foundation for our continued growth and development as a leading international resource group.”

The operations at Bootu Creek in the Northern Territory achieved record manganese production of 346,378 tonnes at 42.0% manganese with the operation on track to achieve its targeted annual production of 700,000 tonnes.

Ore reserves increased to 10.3 million tonnes at 24.5% manganese and mineral resources increased to 17.75 million tonnes at 25.7% manganese, underpinning a life-of-mine plan of 8.5 years production at 700,000 tonnes per annum.

OM Holdings is continuing aggressive exploration programs to further extend the mine life.

“With some of the restrictions associated with the recent Beijing Olympics now behind us, we anticipate continued strong output by China ’s steel industry, with associated demand for high quality manganese ore.

“With its growing mine production and reserve base, successful trading operations and strong balance sheet, the OMH Group remains uniquely placed to continue to benefit from the current global circumstances and outstanding potential of all its operating assets.”

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