TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Base metals miner Imperial Metals on Wednesday announced that falling copper prices had forced Huckleberry Mines (HML) to suspend mining operations at its Huckleberry mine, in British Columbia, in which Imperial held a 50% stake.
The price of copper had fallen more than 53% from its five-year high of about $4.50/lb in 2011, to $2.11/lb on Tuesday.
TSX-listed Imperial, which was still reeling from the Mount Polley gold/copper mine disaster in central British Columbia on August 4, 2014, said about a hundred of the Huckleberry mine’s 260 employees would be affected by the curtailment. The operation would retain the balance of its workforce to continue milling stockpiled ore.
While HML had made significant efforts to reduce operating costs at the Huckleberry mine, the realised savings were not enough to offset declining copper prices.
Edited by: Samantha Herbst
Creamer Media Deputy Editor
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