Sag Mill motor transformer failure at Copper Mountain Mine

Web Site: www.CuMtn.com
TSX: CUM

VANCOUVER, May 16, 2013 /CNW/ - Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX: CUM) (the "Company" or "Copper Mountain") announces that one of the two ABB transformers powering the SAG Mill motors at the Copper Mountain mine has experienced a failure of one set of coils in a transformer that has temporarily interrupted the SAG mill operation.  The cause of the failure is being evaluated by the supplier, but details are not yet available.  A transformer from a ball mill is being moved over to the SAG mill and the SAG mill is scheduled to be back in production by Saturday, May 18, 2013.

As part of the original design of the concentrator, the SAG mill and two ball mills have identical motors and transformers that are interchangeable in the event of a component failure.  The Company is proceeding with its contingency plan of relocating one of the Ball mill transformers to replace the failed SAG mill transformer.  This action will allow the mill to restart production with the SAG Mill and one Ball Mill.  As these are specialty transformers, it is anticipated that it will take approximately 4 weeks to repair.  As a result, production will be limited to approximately 1000 TPH or 24,000 TPD during this period.  The Company has informed its' insurance carrier of the incident and the manufacturer of the transformer has sent a representative to assist at the mine site.  The damaged transformer is being shipped for rebuild in Edmonton. 

Jim O'Rourke, President & CEO of Copper Mountain commented, "This transformer failure is an extremely unfortunate event for the operation as our team has been making significant strides in getting our SAG mill up to full capacity.  Immediate metal production will be impacted, but all resources are being made to minimize the impact."

About Copper Mountain Mining Corporation:
Copper Mountain's flagship asset is the 75% owned Copper Mountain mine located in southern British Columbia near the town of Princeton. The Company has a strategic alliance with Mitsubishi Materials Corporation who owns the remaining 25%. The Copper Mountain mine commenced production in the summer of 2011, and has continued to improve its operations during the year; and attained design capacity in the summer of 2012. The 18,000 acre site has a resource of approximately 5 billion pounds of copper and remains open laterally and at depth. The mine has significant exploration potential that will need to be explored over the next few years to fully appreciate the properties full development potential.  Additional information is available on the Company's new web page at www.CuMtn.com.

On behalf of the Board of
COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING CORPORATION

Jim O'Rourke" 

Jim O'Rourke, P.Eng.
Chief Executive Officer

Note:  This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.  These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results.  Readers are referred to the documents, filed by the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, specifically the most recent reports which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.  The Company undertakes no obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Copper Mountain Mining Corporation