Quadra secures contract miner for Robinson

Vancouver — An agreement with the Washington Group has allowed Quadra Mining (QUA-T) to secure contract-mining services and equipment for its wholly owned Robinson copper mine project, near Ely, Nev.

Quadra completed a $145-million financing to revive the dormant Robinson mine, which was built in 1996 at a cost of US$480 million. The acquisition includes a 38,000-tonne-per-day mine-and-mill complex, which operated until 1999, when mining was suspended as a result of weak metal prices and production shortfalls.

The new mine plan is based on two open pits that together host a measured and indicated resource of 738,808 tonnes grading 0.43% copper and 0.16 gram gold per tonne, based on a cutoff grade of 0.2% copper. This total includes proven and probable reserves of 104,642 tonnes grading 0.72% copper and 0.29 gram gold at a waste-to-ore stripping ratio of 3.9-to-1.

Under the agreement with the Washington Group, Quadra will secure a target price for contract mining over an initial term of seven years. The contractor will also recruit personnel to operate and maintain the equipment.

The companies have worked together to secure all necessary mining equipment so that milling can begin, as scheduled, by year-end. Quadra also provided US$13.5 to secure future payments under the equipment leases.

Negotiations on power, concentrate off-take, and rail transportation are under way. Senior mine managers have been hired and mining equipment will be mobilized to the site, starting with smaller equipment, which will be used for prestripping and for preparation of the initial benches for the larger equipment, to arrive later this year.