Mount Carbine increased tungsten concentrate production by 181 per cent last quarter as mining at the revitalised Andy White open pit kicked in.

The far north Queensland site produced 422 tonnes of concentrate for export into the global market in the three months ending September.

And owner EQ Resources said its open-pit operations were still ramping up, with additional capacity to be added to the Mount Carbine production profile moving into the December quarter.

The company had previously produced concentrate by processing material from low-grade stockpiles and historical tailings at the tungsten site.

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“The ramp-up phase of mining from the Andy White pit is proceeding as expected and we look forward to further improvement in the months ahead,” EQ Resources chief executive officer Kevin MacNeill said.

“The plant has performed slightly better than expected, with the feature being the performance of our two high-tech TOMRA XRT ore sorters.”

“I am very pleased to see overall metal recovery above 80 per cent even with the higher-grade feed being processed.”

Mining has ramped up in the Andy White open pit from 32,000 tonnes of ore in August to 45,000 tonnes of ore in September.

It is expected to reach 83,000 tonnes per month by November, with arrival of a large 192t excavator with a 22t bucket capacity.

Mining to date has been undertaken with a 73t excavator with a 8t bucket.