Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/734523
28 www.resourceworld.com o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 miNiNg L ow metal prices and higher produc- tion costs can result in mines closing; however, under more favourable cir- cumstances, past-producing mines can be brought back to life. Such is the case for Copper Mountain Mining Corp. [CUM-TSX] that operates the Copper Mountain Mine 20 km south of Princeton, southwest British Columbia. The mine is owned by Copper Mountain Mining 75% and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. 25%. Copper was first discovered at the site back in 1884, with mining beginning in 1927. The mine operated off and on for many years under several owners, including Granby, Newmont and Princeton Mining. The last closure was in 1996 but mine builder Jim O'Rourke (Huckleberry Mine), President and CEO of Copper Mountain Mining, and Rod Shier, CFO, recognized the long-term potential of the former underground and open pit mine and the property was acquired in late 2006. Drilling programs in 2007-2008 confirmed substantial resources that would support a 17-year mine life. Production permits were received in April 2010, the debt financing was completed in 2010 and pre-production began in November 2010 with mill start-up in June 2011. Today, the open pit operation is one of the largest copper mines in Canada. The mine utilizes conventional crushing, grinding and flotation to produce copper concentrate with gold and silver credits. With a work force of 430 employees, mill throughput is about 38,000 tonnes thanks to the world's largest cone crusher installed in August of 2014, on time and on budget, at a cost of $40 million. For Q2 2016 (100% basis), there was 26.5 million lbs of copper equivalent pro- duction which translates to 21.2 million lbs copper, 7,980 oz gold and 74,600 oz sil- ver. Concentrate is sent in 50-tonne B-train truck units to the Port of Vancouver (300 km) and loaded onto bulk carriers for ship- ment to Japanese smelters. Q2 revenues were $62.6 million from the sale of 20.1 million lbs copper, 7,200 oz gold and 63,700 oz silver. Gross profit for the quarter was $2.4 million. Site cash costs for Q2 were US $1.17/lb of copper produced net of precious metal credits. H1 2016 site cash costs were US $1.14/lb(net), with total cash costs of US $1.55/lb(net). During the second quarter of 2016, Copper Mountain continued to demon- strate improvement in production. The mill finished the quarter strong by averag- ing 39,800 tpd throughput for the last two weeks of June. This continued into July where a new mill throughput record of 40,700 tpd monthly average was achieved. Despite the challenging commodities price environment, the mine has been cash-flow positive from operations by focusing on cost controls and production efficiencies. Total cash costs for the quarter decreased by 13% to US $1.58/lb of copper sold, net of precious metal credits and after all off- site charges, over Q2 2015 total cash costs. Mine production, at about 196,900 tonnes mined per day, was well above the 2016 guidance of 174,000 tpd. The increased production produced an increase in capital resources. At the end of Q2 the company had $24.9 million of capi- tal resources with $5.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, $9.6 million in concen- Left to right, gordon Frost, Chief mine engineer; patrik gillerstedt, mine Operations manager; Don Strickland, Vice president, Operations; peter Holbek, Vp exploration; Dan gibbons, Investor Relations; and Richard Joyes, Senior Exploration Geologist, at the Copper Mountain Mine. august 30, 2016. photo by ellsworth Dickson. Copper Mountain Mining: a well-oiled machine by Ellsworth Dickson