TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Base-metals-miner Inmet Mining plans to take its 74%-owned Petaquilla copper project, in Panama, through the permitting phase, by which time it hopes that metal prices will have improved enough to justify the construction of the mine.

The company will continue drilling activities to add mineral resources, enhance the mine plan, complete engineering studies, optimise throughput assumptions, finalise the environmental and social impact study and begin permitting, all of which likely likely take about two years, Inmet president and COO Jochen Tilk said on a conference call on Wednesday.

Inmet increased its share of the project when it acquired fellow Canadian Petaquilla Copper (PTC), in which it currently holds a 95% stake.

The firm plans to buy the balance of PTC's shares in November and will then delist the company from the TSX, Tilk told analysts and investors.

The remaining 26% in the company that holds the Petaquilla concession is owned by Vancouver-based Teck Cominco, which will need to decide soon whether it will fund its share of the project or sell the stake to Inmet, Tilk said.

Inmet and Teck reached an agreement in March this year, according to which Inmet agreed to fund all the costs of the project for an interim period, until it had spent $50-million or by September 30, 2009, whichever comes first, after which Teck must decide either to fund its share of the costs, and reimburse Inmet for the funding provided until then, or to sell its stake in the Petaquilla project to Inmet.

Inmet expects to have spent the $50-million by early November, Tilk said on Wednesday.

“We believe... it is appropriate to advance Petaquilla, but we will remain disciplined in our approach and will find the right balance between advancing the project and preserving our cash reserves,” he added.

Copper prices have fallen severely over the last month, as fears of a global economic slowdown spur demand concerns for the industrial metal.

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