Mineral Deposits

?       Underlying earnings: $8.7 million, compared to $13.5 million in 1H 2012.

?       Underlying EPS: 10.3 cents, compared to 16.2 cents in 1H 2012.

?       Cash: $19.6 million, down from $50.2 million at December 2012 primarily due to remaining $25 million of equity contributed to TiZir.

?       Debt: Nil.

?       Investments: $34.7 million (value at 30 June 2013).

TiZir

(50% owned
by MDL)

?       EBITDA: $39.7 million (including insurance proceeds of $11.4 million), 21% lower than 1H 2012 which primarily reflects reduced titanium slag pricing.

?       Equity injection: remaining $50 million of committed equity was injected by MDL ($25 million) and Eramet ($25 million) during the second quarter.

?       Cash: $47.5 million.

?       Debt: $150.3 million (5 year bond issued September 2012).

?       Additional funding sources: a US$50 million working capital facility was finalised during the June quarter which is available to be drawn upon; and US$45 million of unsecured debt remains to be injected by Eramet, which when combined with existing cash ($47.5 million) gives total funding of $142.5 million.

Tyssedal

Operational performance

?       Titanium slag production: 99.3kt, 28% higher than 1H 2012, reflecting the plant operating at effective capacity.

?       Titanium slag sales: 80.6kt, 11% higher than 1H 2012, with increased sales in the second quarter (43.3kt) compared to the first quarter (37.2kt).

?       Titanium slag pricing: on average approximately 30% lower than average full-year 2012 levels, with prices softening through the half.

?       High purity pig iron (HPPI) sales volumes: 66.3kt, 27% higher than 1H 2012, with the increased sales volumes partially reflecting the introduction of an intermediate grade product that is accessing a different customer segment.

?       HPPI pricing: approximately 20% lower than average full-year 2012 levels, partially a result of the introduction of the intermediate grade product.

Grande C?te

Construction
status

?       Construction completion: over 80%.

?       Estimated cost to complete construction: approximately $100 million (at 30 June 2013).

?       Work to do: with the dredge and power station completed, and the rail and port facilities on-track for completion in October, the majority of the final construction phase centres on the wet concentrator plant (including the tails densification module) and mineral separation plant, with piping and electricals being the major works to be undertaken.

?       Schedule: commissioning of the WCP and MSP is scheduled during the March 2014 quarter (unchanged from the March 2013 quarterly report).

Outlook

?       Titanium slag production: approximately 100kt of production is anticipated in 2H 2013, giving around 200kt for the 2013 year, an uplift from 190kt guided at the commencement of the year and some 10% above 2012 levels.

?       Titanium slag sales volumes: approximately 100kt is anticipated in 2H 2013, some 25% higher than 1H 2013.

?       HPPI sales volumes: approximately 55kt is anticipated in 2H 2013.