Vancouver – EuroZinc Mining’s (EZM-T) acquisition of the Neves Corvo copper mine in 2004 appears a very astute move, following the release of excellent year-end results for the southern Portuguese operation.
In 2004, Neves Corvo produced 95,687 tonnes of copper in concentrate, about 211 million pounds of the metal, and realized a net profit of US$80.5 million, the second highest in 16-years of operation.
About 1.9 million tonnes of ore was mined and processed from the underground operation, with an average head-grade of 5.7% copper. Processing achieved an 88.4% recovery rate and produced a concentrate averaging 23.9% copper.
The operation saw net cash costs of US$0.60 per pound of copper for the year, with the metal seeing an average price of US$1.30 per pound based on London Metal Exchange figures.
In mid-2004, EuroZinc purchased the Neves Corvo operating company, Somincor, from Portuguese government owned mining company Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro, and from Rio Tinto (RTP-N) for about US$155 million.
The mine accounts for about 90% of Portugal’s mineral production, by value, and is the largest copper producer in the European Union. Mineable reserves of 19.3 million tonnes grading 5% copper will support at least 10-years of continued operation. The deposit also hosts zones of tin, which have largely been exhausted, and zinc, currently undergoing metallurgical testing.
EuroZinc also owns the Aljustrel zinc mine, located about 40 km from Neves Corvo. The project is currently under care-and-maintenance, but an updated feasibility study recently completed has outlined positive economics.
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