Vancouver The Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine owned by Taseko Mines (TKO-V) and partner Ledcor almost reached forecast production levels in the latest quarter ended June 30. The 35,000-tonne-per-day, open-pit mine is situated near Williams Lake, B.C.
Taseko and Ledcor, a contract-miner, revived the past-producing mine late last year. Gibraltar was originally built in 1971, and operated for 27 years until 1998, when low metal prices forced its closure.
Copper production in the latest quarter was 27,500 tonnes, or 15.5 million pounds of copper, about 96% of forecast levels. Molybdenum-in-concentrate production was 178,000 pounds, or 92% of forecast levels.
Copper concentrate sales were 32,100 tonnes, or about 17 million pounds of copper. Sales were 13% above forecast levels, owing to production and drawdown of inventories. As a result, copper concentrate inventory fell to 6,900 tonnes from 11,500 tonnes at the end of the previous quarter.
Molybdenum-in-concentrate sales were 223,000 pounds, up from 78,000 pounds sold in the previous quarter. Inventory fell to 18,000 pounds from 63,000 pounds at the end of the previous quarter.
Taseko aims to reach forecast levels of production shortly, and expects to operate at these approximate levels of inventory in future quarters. Gibraltar has an expected mine life of about 12 years, which could be extended if additional resources are developed into reserves.
The company plans to release is financial results for the quarter (its third fiscal quarter of 2005) in mid-August.
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