Copper Mountain lifts Q1 output 10%

16th April 2018 By: Henry Lazenby - Creamer Media Deputy Editor: North America

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – British Columbia-focused miner Copper Mountain Mining has reported strong results for the first calendar quarter, as it battled abnormal volumes of snow and a brief power outage to keep production on course with 2018 guidance.

The eponymous mine produced 23.2-million pounds of copper equivalent, which comprised 19.9-million pounds of the red metal, 6 070 oz of gold and 77 900 oz of silver.

Gold and silver continue to make a healthy contribution to the operation and the average milling rate for the period was 38 800 t/d for the quarter. Total tonnes milled during the period was 3.5-million tonnes at an average head grade of 0.328% copper.

Openpit mining averaged 184 300 t/d during the first quarter, within 3% of its 190 000 t/d guidance with the slight decrease related to the abnormal high snow fall, the company advised.

Mining activities continued from the Pit 2, Saddle and Oriole areas during the quarter. The team mined 16.6-million tonnes of material, including 6.5-million tonnes of ore and 10.1-million tonnes of waste, resulting in a strip ratio of 1.54 to 1.  

The Vancouver-based company expects to produce 80-million pounds of copper this year.

The company's TSX-listed equity traded in positive territory on Monday, gaining 2.46% to change hands at C$1.25 a share.