Net Operating Costs and a little tid bit on Knight Piesold In the third quarter of 2014, net operating costs per pound of copper produced were US$2.35, a 34% increase over the US$1.76 per pound in the previous quarter. This increase was primarily driven by the changes to the mine sequence as a result of the high wall stability issue in the Granite pit which resulted in lower copper grade mined in the quarter. Lower head grades and copper production volumes will negatively impact unit costs as the majority of operating costs are fixed. The revised mine sequence also resulted in longer ore hauls and increased haulage costs, and higher cost contractor equipment was utilized to maintain mine production. A planned $5.1 million shovel overhaul expenditure and contract waste mining also impacted operating costs in the third quarter. By-product credits were lower compared to the previous quarter due to the decline in the molybdenum price.
The Gibraltar mining fleet has now been redeployed to higher productivity upper benches, the mining contractor has been released and all major shovel maintenance had been completed by mid-October. The Company expects to resume normal expenditure levels going forward.
Read more at https://www.stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2014/10/29/taseko-announces-third-quarter-2014-results#WQbV8e2MPpPeMIZw.99
https://www.knightpiesold.com/en/index.cfm/news/statement-by-knight-piesold-ltd-regarding-the-mount-polley-mining-incident/
https://newprosperityproject.ca/news-release-natural-resources-canada-relied-on-wrong-design-to-advise-federal-panel-on-tasekos-new-prosperity-project