COPPER MOUNTAIN PROJECT UNAFFECTED BY JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
VANCOUVER, March 17 /CNW/ --
Web Site: www.CuMtn.com
TSX: CUM
VANCOUVER, March 17 /CNW/ - Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX: CUM) (the 'Company' or 'Copper Mountain') announces that after fielding a number of calls from the investment
community, the Company thought it would be prudent to reassure
investors that the weeks recent earthquake in Japan has not impacted
the Company's Copper Mountain Project. All major equipment is on site
and being assembled and is on schedule. Likewise, the Company believes
that the Company's plans for delivery of copper concentrate commencing
this summer remain unaffected.
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (MMC) announced on March 11, 2011 that
they have suspended operations at its Onahama copper smelter because of
the terrible damage by the earthquake and tsunami, as well as the
damages to the infrastructures and logistics for the smelter. MMC is
currently evaluating the situation and yet to have an estimate of when
the Onahama copper smelter will resume its operation. MMC operates
three copper smelters, two in Japan, Onahama (subsidiary of MMC) with
annual copper cathode production capacity of 258,000 tons and Naoshima
with capacity of 225,000 tons, and the PT smelting (subsidiary of MMC)
in Indonesia with 300,000 tons. MMC has contracted to purchase 100% of
the copper concentrate produced by the Copper Mountain Project. In
accordance with the contracts, MMC will implement necessary actions to
fulfill its obligations in good faith. MMC's commitment to the Project
is unchanged.
According to the 'International Copper Study Group,' Global smelting
capacity will expand by 14 percent to 20.68 million tons by 2014, while
mining capacity will only reach 18.98 million tons. According to an
article by Reuters on Mar 11, 2011 they reported that Japan was
expected to produce 1.6 million tonnes of refined copper in 2011, about
7.6 % of world output. Currently there is excess smelter capacity, the
majority of which is in China as the country continues to feed its need
for raw materials and refined copper in particular. The Copper Mountain
concentrate is very clean and an acceptable concentrate at most
smelters.
Construction work on the Company's Copper Mountain Project continues to
proceed on schedule and as planned. The overall schedule for the
project remains unchanged with construction expected to be completed by
the end of April 2011, commissioning of equipment is scheduled to occur
during May 2011, and full production scheduled to be achieved by the
end of June 2011. Preproduction mining activities are well underway
and the Company's new mining fleet is operating as expected.
Commissioning of the primary crusher, ore stockpile recovery system and
pebble crusher is now underway, while installation of the grinding
mills is proceeding and are expected to be ready for testing by the end
of April. Mechanical installation in the concentrator is well advanced
with the bulk of construction activities directed at piping and
electrical activities.
The project currently has 557 workers on site, of which 180 are Copper
Mountain personnel and the rest associated with the construction
activities. At full production, the project will employ 271
personnel.
About Copper Mountain Mining Corporation:
Copper Mountain is a Canadian resource company managed by an experienced
team of professionals with a solid track record of exploration and
development success. The Company's shares trade on the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol 'CUM'. Copper Mountain owns 75% and
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation owns 25% of the Copper Mountain
Project. The 18,000 acre mine site is located 20 km south of the town
of Princeton in southern British Columbia. The Copper Mountain Project
has a current resource of approximately 5 billion pounds of copper, the
Copper Mountain Project is fully financed ($438M) and in construction
and on schedule for the mine to produce approximately 100 million
pounds of copper per year by mid 2011. Additional information is
available on the Company's web page at www.CuMtn.com.
On behalf of the Board of
COPPER MOUNTAIN MINING CORPORATION
'Jim O'Rourke'
J.C.(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.
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2011/17/c3767.html
Galina Meleger, Corporate Communications 604-682-2992 ext.224 Email: Galina.meleger@CuMtn.com or
Rod Shier, Chief Financial Officer 604-682-2992 ext.222 Email: Rod@CuMtm.com
Website: www.CuMtn.com