Copper Mountain mine back in operation earlier than expected

Web Site: www.CuMtn.com
TSX: CUM

VANCOUVER, May 22, 2013 /CNW/ - Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX: CUM) (the "Company" or "Copper Mountain") announces that further to the Company's news release of May 17, 2013, the damaged SAG mill transformer was replaced late Friday and the mill was back in operation by 6 pm Friday May 17, 2013.  Site maintenance personnel were able to successfully replace the damaged transformer with identical transformers from Ball Mill #1.  Operations over the long weekend with the SAG mill and one ball mill was better than forecast and operated at an average rate of 1,100 tpoh or an average of 25,400tpd.

The exact cause of the failure is being evaluated by the supplier and an independent third party consultant.  Preliminary testing has indicated that damage is limited to one set of coils in the transformer, which could help with shortening the timing of repairs.  The damaged transformer was trucked to ABB's transformer repair facility in Edmonton, Alberta.  ABB has sent a technical specialist from its plant in Italy to oversee the dismantling of the damaged transformer, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday May 21, 2013.  ABB's transformer facility in Italy have ordered the raw materials necessary to manufacture a replacement set of coils which will be flown to their facility in Edmonton for installation in the damaged transformer. The repair of the one set of coils is forecast to take 2.5 weeks.  The Company has instructed ABB to manufacture a full set of coils for the transformer for an estimated cost of $125,000 to ensure additional coils are on site and available at all times.

Jim O'Rourke, President & CEO of Copper Mountain commented, "We are extremely pleased with our mine site teams' ability to work quickly and effectively to get the SAG mill operational one full day ahead of our original estimate and at an increased throughput rate. This operation with one ball mill demonstrates the extra ball mill capacity available once we are able to get full tonnage through the SAG mill. "

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