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Print[Ferro-alloys.com] (Reuters) Shares in Guinea-focused mining company Bellzone fell more than 40 percent on Wednesday after it downgraded expected production from its Forecariah iron ore mine and outlined a slower start to its bigger Kalia project.
Bellzone said Forecariah, a joint venture with China International Fund, is expected to produce 800,000 to 1 million tonnes of iron ore in 2013.
That is potentially less than a quarter of what it had originally planned, after the miner found less direct shipping ore - ore that can be shipped straight to a steel furnace - than expected.
Commodities trader Glencore agreed last year to buy up at least half of the output from Forecariah, but production now looks unlikely to exceed 1 million tonnes even next year.
Bellzone also said it was considering plans to generate cash faster from its larger Kalia project in the West African country, using trucks to take its production to port, rather than waiting for a costly rail link.
That would involve higher transport costs but less initial investment than a full-scale project. The study is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
"Overall this news is going to give little confidence in the prospects for the company and projects in a more subdued outlook for iron ore prices," SP Angel analysts said in a morning note.
At 1115 GMT, shares in Bellzone were down 42 percent a
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