Mine closings are a sad but inevitable part of the mining business. Orebodies are finite, measurable entities that eventually are depleted. It is the task of the operator to extract that ore in a logical, effective way so that the mining process is profitable and thorough.
That certainly is the case at Opemiska, the backbone of what is today Minnova Inc. and the economic foundation of the community of Chapais in northwestern Quebec.
After almost 40 years of continuous operation, the Opemiska copper mine has run out of ore. It started operations in 1953 with about five years of reserves and continued without a pause until this summer. The 29 million tonnes of ore it hoisted yielded metals worth, at today’s prices, about $2 billion.
That is a tremendous contribution to company employees and shareholders, to the community and to the national economy. It is all the more remarkable considering the ignoble fate of all too many mines in the past few years.
In the case of Opemiska, the end came with dignity. In economic terms, the mine was considered to be depleted 18 months ago, but operations continued on a break-even basis to let the employees and the surrounding community adjust. True to form, the mine performed better than expected and during its last six months made sufficient operating profit to more than justify the extended shutdown period.
Opemiska — a first-class operation from beginning to end.
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