TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The TSX-listed stock of British Columbia-based base metals producer Copper Mountain Mining on Wednesday rose after the company reported improved third-quarter results, boosted by improved copper output after a new secondary crusher was successfully installed.
Despite reporting a net loss of C$4-million, or C$0.02 a share, impacted mainly by foreign exchange losses on its US-dollar denominated debt, Copper Mountain’s TSX-listed stock on Wednesday rose 12% to C$2.22 apiece.
Headline earnings came in at C$0.15, smashing analyst expectations of adjusted earnings a share of C$0.04, on revenue of C$68-million.
Copper Mountain reported revenue of C$82.5-million, up 51% over the third quarter of 2013.
Sales totalled 25.3-million pounds of copper, which included the recovery from a ship-loading error during the quarter, 7 800 oz of gold and 133 800 oz of silver.
The realised prices were $3.17/lb of copper, $1 283/oz of gold and $19.73/oz of silver.
The company achieved record output for the quarter at the Copper Mountain mine, pushing copper output up 22% year-over-year to 21.7-million pounds, while gold output was 6 100 oz and silver 124 100 oz.
“Commissioning of the new secondary crusher has gone well and it is operating at rates that allow the mill to reach its design capacity of 35 000 t/d. Additional fine-tuning of the crusher and semiautogenous grinding mill is the top mine site priority to reach higher tonnage levels. Post quarter-end, we have started to see the mill operate in the 35 000 t/d to 40 000 t/d range,” Copper Mountain president and CEO Jim O’Rourke said.
Site cash costs were $1.19/lb of copper produced, net of precious metal credits, down 29% compared with the 2013 third quarter. Total cash costs for the period were $1.73/lb of copper sold, net of precious metal credits, and after all off-site charges, down 22% year-on-year.
Cash costs in the period benefited from the company discontinuing the temporary measures of contract crushing and portable crushing put in place while the secondary crusher was being installed.
Copper Mountain pointed out it was on track to achieve its expected full-year guidance of 80-million pounds to 90-million pounds of red metal.
The company owns a 75% interest in the eponymous Copper Mountain mine and Mitsubishi Materials owns the remaining 25%.