London-listed NQ Minerals said processing circuit modifications at its Hellyer project since June had led to a "very significant" increase in production rates.

The production rate had increased from 840,000 tonnes in 2019 to an annualised rate of 1.23 million tones for July and August.

The company now plans to work towards a long-term maximum target of 1.5 million tonnes per year, which would be about 180 tonnes per hour.

Executive chairman David Lenigas said the increase to date was an outstanding result.

"We have seen very significant improvements in a relatively short period of time and this significant increase in performance is well ahead of our original mining and processing schedule and has been completed with minimal capital outlay," he said.

"The opportunity to continue this initiative and further increase our lead and zinc concentrates output will certainly improve financial returns and manage our business risk."

The Hellyer tailings reprocessing project also produces gold, silver.

NQ has hopes of resuming mining in the area.

In late August, NQ said it planned to end a 10-year gap in mineral exploration work at its "highly prospective" Hellyer Project.

It said the Hellyer deposit had supported a large and very high grade lead-zinc mine and the company had started reviewing exploration targets in the area.

"There is now significant potential to define new and extensive high-grade mineralisation at Hellyer, one of the world's great polymetallic, high-grade mines," Mr Lenigas said at the time.

The company bought the famed Beaconsfield mine in June and aims to have it back in production as soon as "practicably possible".