Talvivaara Mining Co Talvivaara Mining Company Plc

 
TIDMTALV 
 
Stock Exchange Release 
Talvivaara Mining Company Plc 
9 November 2012 
 
 
         Stemming of the leakage in Talvivaara's gypsum pond continues 
 Kainuu ELY Centre does not for the time being grant permission for re-start of 
                           the metals recovery plant 
 
Talvivaara Mining Company Plc ("Talvivaara" or the "Company") announces that the 
gypsum  pond  leakage  towards  the  South  was  completely stemmed in the early 
morning  of  9 November  2012, but  during  the  day a further small leakage has 
occurred,  and work to stem it continues.  The leakage to the North was entirely 
stopped in the early morning of 8 November 2012. 
 
Whilst  the majority of the leakage has been contained in safety dams inside the 
mining concession area, the Company has had to release some water outside of the 
mining  concession area beginning  Thursday 8 November 2012 from  the safety dam 
furthest  downstream to the South. Following the completion of additional safety 
dams,  Talvivaara expects to be  able to stop the  discharge during Saturday 10 
November 2012. 
 
The  water  released  from  the  safety  dam  has been neutralized such that its 
acidity  has  been  decreased  and  metal  contents have been materially reduced 
compared  to the water  in the gypsum  pond. As a  result, environmental effects 
outside  the mining concession area  have been limited so  far. According to the 
statement by Finland's environmental administration today, the discharge has not 
materially  worsened water quality in downstream  waters, as the majority of the 
nickel  discharge  from  the  gypsum  pond  has been contained within the mining 
concession area. 
 
The  uranium content in nearby  waters has somewhat increased  due to the gypsum 
pond  leakage. According  to the  statement by  the Radiation and Nuclear Safety 
Authority  of  Finland  earlier  today,  uranium  concentrations  in  the mining 
concession  area  and  its  surroundings  are  sufficiently  small  not  to have 
radiation protection materiality or pose any danger to health. 
 
The  Kainuu  Centre  for  Economic  Development,  Transport  and the Environment 
("Kainuu  ELY Centre")  has in  its statement  of 9 November  2012 assessed that 
Talvivaara's  metals recovery plant  shall not be  re-started before the planned 
operation  of the plant has been clarified such that it best serves the recovery 
from  the exceptional  situation caused  by the  gypsum pond leakage. Kainuu ELY 
Centre  requests the Company  to clarify how  the plant can  be operated in this 
manner by Wednesday 14 November 2012. 
 
Talvivaara  re-iterates  its  opinion  that  the  re-start  of  the  plant is an 
important  step in  the overall  environmental risk  management of the mine. The 
bioheapleaching  process is a continuous process that cannot be stopped over the 
short  term. As the leaching process continues  to produce more nickel and other 
metals  into the  process solution,  it is  important to precipitate the leached 
metals as opposed to accumulating them in solutions stored in the process ponds. 
As  such, the metals recovery process can  be considered a treatment process for 
waste water. 
 
Talvivaara  has  stated  in  its  Production  Update  of 15 October 2012 and its 
Interim  Results  of  8 November  2012 that  it  anticipates  its fourth quarter 
production  to increase  over the  4,030 tonnes of  nickel achieved in the third 
quarter. As the stoppage of the metals recovery plant continues, the Company has 
to re-assess this target during the week commencing 12 November 2012. 
 
Enquiries 
 
Talvivaara Mining Company Plc Tel: [phone] 
Harri Natunen, Chief Executive Officer 
Saila Miettinen-Lähde, Deputy CEO and CFO 
 
 
Talvivaara Mining Company Plc 
Talvivaara Mining Company is an internationally significant base metals producer 
with  its  primary  focus  on  nickel  and  zinc  using  a  technology  known as 
bioheapleaching  to extract metals out  of ore. Bioheapleaching makes extraction 
of  metals  from  low  grade  ore  economically  viable. The Talvivaara deposits 
comprise  one of the largest known sulphide  nickel resources in Europe. The ore 
body  is  estimated  to  support  anticipated  production  for  several decades. 
Talvivaara has secured a 10-year off-take agreement for 100 per cent of its main 
output  of nickel and cobalt to Norilsk Nickel and entered into a long-term zinc 
streaming  agreement with Nyrstar  NV. Talvivaara is  listed on the London Stock 
Exchange  Main Market and NASDAQ  OMX Helsinki and is  included in the FTSE 250 
Index. Further information can be found at www.talvivaara.com. 
 
Stemming of the leakage in Talvivaara?s gypsum pond continues 9.11.12: 
http://hugin.info/136227/R/1656764/535722.pdf 
 
 
 
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Source: Talvivaaran Kaivososakeyhtiö Oyj via Thomson Reuters ONE 
[HUG#1656764]