Valence Industries Cuts Workforce by 60 Percent

Valence Industries Ltd. (ASX:VXL) released an update on graphite production at its South Australia-based Uley project, noting that it’s hit a number of milestones since commissioning and production ramp up began there in June. Those include:

• Delivered production graphite concentrate grades of up to 94% with consistent output still required
• Achieved plant capacity of 20 tonnes per hour (tph) feed-in rate with continuous operation over weekly operating periods still required
• Successful completion of Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) as a key part of the process system.

On a different note, the company said that it has cut its workforce by 60 percent in order to reduce costs. The press release states:

To allow for work to be carried out for the process improvement program, the existing Uley GraphiteTM plant will be operated at 50% of nameplate capacity until April 2016. Valence Industries is confident that all existing and potential customer specifications will be satisfied with the reduced production rate, and the Company is continuing to work with customers to match production to customer delivery requirements.
These changes have also seen Valence Industries implement a cost reduction program at both the Uley GraphiteTM site and the corporate office in Adelaide, South Australia. Valence Industries has reduced workforce numbers by 60% and, together with corporate and plant operating efficiencies, the initiative is expected to deliver significant monthly cost savings.
Valence Industries will retain key staff required for current production and process improvement, and will further review workforce structure as production increases to full capacity as it completes the process changes scheduled in April 2016.

Click here to read the full Valence Industries Ltd. (ASX:VXL) press release.