Copper Mountain mine back in full operation one week ahead of schedule
Web Site: www.CuMtn.com
TSX: CUM
VANCOUVER, June 10, 2013 /CNW/ - Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX: CUM) (the "Company" or "Copper Mountain") announces that further to the Company's news releases of May 22 and 17, 2013, the damaged SAG mill transformer has now been fully repaired and re-installed which has allowed the concentrator to be back at full operation with one SAG Mill and two Ball Mills operating as expected. Site maintenance personnel received the repaired transformer from the repair shop in Edmonton this past weekend, a full week ahead of the originally scheduled shipment date. The repaired transformer has had all three sets of coils replaced and has been fully inspected and certified as new by ABB personnel and comes with a one year warranty.
Mr. Jim O'Rourke, President & CEO stated, "We were very pleased with operational results of running with only one Ball Mill. During the period in which the concentrator was operating with only one Ball Mill, site personnel were able to make modifications to the operation to minimize lost production, which included mining higher grade material, decreasing the size of the SAG Mill discharge screen to provide a finer size of ore being sent to the Ball Mill thus maximizing the Ball Mill's capacity. The operational adjustments were very effective in that during the period of running with just one Ball Mill, the concentrator achieved a 95.4% availability; averaged 1,207 TPOH; had copper recoveries of 86.7%; and produced 12% more lbs of copper per day than the first two weeks of May before the transformer failure."
Mr. O'Rourke continued, "The operation with one Ball Mill clearly confirms that if we can increase tonnage through the SAG Mill, the Ball Mill circuit will handle it. All data from operations during this period confirms that we could achieve 2000 TPOH at 92% operating time with both Ball Mills running. I would like to thank all site personnel and ABB staff who worked around the clock to get the failed transformer back in operation a full week a head of the originally estimated repair time."
The exact cause of the failure has not yet been determined, the three coils that were replaced have been sent to ABB's repair shop in Italy for further testing and evaluation.
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
Rod Shier"
Rod Shier, CA
Chief Financial 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
Galina Meleger, Corporate Communications 604-682-2992 ext.224 Email: Galina @CuMtn.com or
Rod Shier, Chief Financial Officer 604-682-2992 ext.222 Email: Rod@CuMtn.com
Website: www.CuMtn.com