Strike disrupts production at Cayeli copper mine

Production at the Cayeli copper-zinc mine in Turkey has been suspended as a result of a miners’ strike.

Inmet Mining (IMN-T), which owns a 49% equity interest in the mine’s owner, Cayeli Bakir Isletmeleri, says the 276 workers struck in early October after contract negotiations broke down.

Cayeli was Inmet’s second-most profitable mine in the second quarter, accounting for a third of the $12.5 million (before interest and taxes) the company earned from operations. Higher mill throughput and better metal recoveries helped lower the mine’s operating costs to US43 cents per lb.

Production in the first nine months of this year topped 24,000 tonnes copper- and 29,000 tonnes zinc-in-concentrate.

Inmet’s other producers include: the wholly owned Troilus gold mine in northern Quebec; the 18%-owned Ok Tedi copper-gold mine in Papua New Guinea; the 20%-owned Navachab gold mine in Namibia; and the wholly owned Winston Lake zinc-copper mine in northern Ontario.

The company also holds varying interests in several exploration properties, including a 33.3% stake in the Ovacik gold project in Turkey. Although that project is at an advanced stage, development has been stalled by permitting delays.

In related news, Inmet has agreed to sell its Austrian tungsten producer, Wolfram Berghau und Hutten, to a group of European investors for $50 million in cash. A $2-million, non-refundable deposit has been paid, with the remainder due upon the deal’s closing in early November.