Quadra’s copper con heads to Asia

Vancouver — Quadra Mining (QUA-T) has shipped the first load of copper concentrate from its recently restarted Robinson mine in Ely, Nev. However, the good news was overshadowed an accident that killed two contract miners at the operation in early December.

The victims, both of whom were employed by Washington Group Nevada, died while performing maintenance work on the bucket of a large mining shovel.

Both the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Nevada Department of Business and Industry are investigating the incident.

Meanwhile, the copper concentrate, which weighs 11,400 tonnes, was shipped by bulk carrier from Vancouver, Wash., and was bound for an Asian smelter. The shipment has an average copper grade of 25% and contains an estimated 5.5 million lbs. of payable copper and 2,700 oz. gold.

Quadra met its projected revenue for the last quarter. The company will receive about US$7 million for the initial shipment, or 90% of the estimated value less treatment and refining charges.

Quadra bought the Robinson mine for US$14.8 million from BHP Billiton (bhp-n) in April 2004. The open-pit copper-gold mine started up six months later.

BHP Billiton constructed the Robinson mine in 1996 at a cost of US$480 million. However, the mine was shut down in June 1999, owing to low copper and gold prices of US64 per lb. copper and US$261 per oz. gold.

During the four years the mine was in production, copper recoveries ranged from 60% to 86%; gold recoveries, between 37% and 63%.

The mine is expected to produce 163 million lbs. copper and 57,000 oz. gold in concentrate on a yearly basis.

So far, the Robinson mine has produced 38,000 tonnes copper concentrate. Quadra expects to ship 20,000 tonnes copper concentrate on a monthly basis throughout the coming year.

At January 2004, reserves stood at 104.6 million tonnes grading 0.72% copper and 0.29 gram gold per tonne. The stripping ratio is 3.9-to-1.

The Robinson property comprises 50 sq. km. Copper-gold mineralization is found near surface and in replacement-type bodies. The principal sulphide minerals are pyrite and chalcopyrite. The copper and gold mineralization occurs as primary hypogene mineralization in the quartz-monzonite porphyry and as skarn mineralization in the adjacent sedimentary rocks.