PERTH (miningweekly.com) – While ASX-listed MinQuest has been forced to abandon its plans to buy the Wolverine zinc mine, in Canada, the company on Tuesday said it would continue to “vigorously” explore opportunities to use the Wolverine infrastructure to process the Kona mineral resource from its own Fyre Lake copper project.
Commercial production at Wolverine started in 2012, with full design capacity of 750 000 t/y achieved in the first quarter of 2013. The mine was, however, placed on care and maintenance in January, with owner Yukon Zinc facing financial difficulties.
MinQuest in July announced its intention to acquire the mine, with plans to use the existing processing and tailings management facilities at the mine to fast-track the development of the Fyre Lake copper project.
Although it was selected as the preferred bidder for the mine, the Supreme Court of British Columbia in September adjourned MinQuest’s application to buy the mine, pending a restructure of Yukon Zinc’s creditor plan.
By October, Yukon Zinc’s monitor had received the necessary funding to make the required payments to the affected creditors under the new restructuring plan, meaning that MinQuest would not be able to execute its planned asset acquisition agreement.
Instead, Yukon Zinc would keep the Wolverine mine on care and maintenance, pending a sustained improvement in zinc prices.
MinQuest on Tuesday said the company would continue with its efforts to gain access to the Wolverine infrastructure.
The company believed that for viable, long-term mining operations to be sustained using the existing Wolverine infrastructure, an integrated project combining the remaining Wolverine resource and the Kona mineral resource on the adjacent Fyre Lake project, would be required.