HudBay Exec - "777 is approaching the end of its life"
Promising exploration results at Lalor mine do not align with disappointing findings at 777, say Hudbay officials.
During a company conference call last week, officials discussed ongoing efforts to extend the life of both mines.
Brad Lantz, vice-president, Business Development and Technical Services, said recent results from Lalor are “really high grade” and “very encouraging.”
Hudbay has nearly completed an exploration ramp at Lalor, he said, with work expected to wrap up at the end of this month.
Next will be an 8,500-metre drill program between September and December, Lantz said, to confirm and better define “indications that there is something down plunge.”
In Flin Flon, results at the War Baby deposit – long viewed as key to extending the life of 777 – “just have not been as encouraging,” he said.
“We just recently completed two holes. They are currently being logged. We will do some borehole pulsing, and again [the] current plan is to do a couple more holes, but really results to date at 777 have not been that encouraging.”
Alan Hair, senior vice-president and chief operating officer, agreed with that assessment.
“I mean, we’ve obviously been drilling in other areas in 777, not just War Baby,” he said. “I mean, as Brad indicated, it very much looks as if 777 is now approaching the end of its life in terms of ability to extend the reserves any further.”
Whether that evaluation proves accurate remains to be seen. Hudbay plans to spend at least $20 million on Flin Flon-Snow Lake exploration this year, a 25 per cent increase over 2014.
According to current estimates, 777 mine will be depleted in 2020. The mine produced its first batch of ore in July 2003.
In an unrelated matter during the conference call, Hudbay CEO David Garofalo estimated that one-fourth to one-third of the company’s 73,000 tonnes of unsold copper concentrate is in Manitoba. The rest is in Peru, home of the Constancia mine.
That translates into about 18,250 to 24,333 tonnes in Manitoba and 48,667 to 54,750 tonnes in Peru.
In Snow Lake, where Hudbay owns the former New Britannia mine gold mill, Hair told the conference call there is currently “a comprehensive set of studies” underway to address how the mill will fit “into the overall Snow Lake picture.”
“There’s quite a few moving parts and we want to make sure we get them all connecting properly,” he added. “So we’re looking to have some insight to those numbers by the first quarter of next year.”
Note: Quotes from the Hudbay conference call are derived from a transcript provided by Seeking Alpha
- See more at: https://www.thereminder.ca/news/local-news/hudbay-enthused-by-lalor-exploration-but-777-not-so-much-1.2024379#sthash.hrg0kayL.dpuf
Promising exploration results at Lalor mine do not align with disappointing findings at 777, say Hudbay officials.
During a company conference call last week, officials discussed ongoing efforts to extend the life of both mines.
Brad Lantz, vice-president, Business Development and Technical Services, said recent results from Lalor are “really high grade” and “very encouraging.”
Hudbay has nearly completed an exploration ramp at Lalor, he said, with work expected to wrap up at the end of this month.
Next will be an 8,500-metre drill program between September and December, Lantz said, to confirm and better define “indications that there is something down plunge.”
In Flin Flon, results at the War Baby deposit – long viewed as key to extending the life of 777 – “just have not been as encouraging,” he said.
“We just recently completed two holes. They are currently being logged. We will do some borehole pulsing, and again [the] current plan is to do a couple more holes, but really results to date at 777 have not been that encouraging.”
Alan Hair, senior vice-president and chief operating officer, agreed with that assessment.
“I mean, we’ve obviously been drilling in other areas in 777, not just War Baby,” he said. “I mean, as Brad indicated, it very much looks as if 777 is now approaching the end of its life in terms of ability to extend the reserves any further.”
Whether that evaluation proves accurate remains to be seen. Hudbay plans to spend at least $20 million on Flin Flon-Snow Lake exploration this year, a 25 per cent increase over 2014.
According to current estimates, 777 mine will be depleted in 2020. The mine produced its first batch of ore in July 2003.
In an unrelated matter during the conference call, Hudbay CEO David Garofalo estimated that one-fourth to one-third of the company’s 73,000 tonnes of unsold copper concentrate is in Manitoba. The rest is in Peru, home of the Constancia mine.
That translates into about 18,250 to 24,333 tonnes in Manitoba and 48,667 to 54,750 tonnes in Peru.
In Snow Lake, where Hudbay owns the former New Britannia mine gold mill, Hair told the conference call there is currently “a comprehensive set of studies” underway to address how the mill will fit “into the overall Snow Lake picture.”
“There’s quite a few moving parts and we want to make sure we get them all connecting properly,” he added. “So we’re looking to have some insight to those numbers by the first quarter of next year.”
Note: Quotes from the Hudbay conference call are derived from a transcript provided by Seeking Alpha
- See more at: https://www.thereminder.ca/news/local-news/hudbay-enthused-by-lalor-exploration-but-777-not-so-much-1.2024379#sthash.hrg0kayL.dpuf
Hudbay enthused by Lalor exploration, but 777 not so much
Jonathon Naylor / Flin Flon Reminder
Promising exploration results at Lalor mine do not align with disappointing findings at 777, say Hudbay officials.
During a company conference call last week, officials discussed ongoing efforts to extend the life of both mines.
Brad Lantz, vice-president, Business Development and Technical Services, said recent results from Lalor are “really high grade” and “very encouraging.”
Hudbay has nearly completed an exploration ramp at Lalor, he said, with work expected to wrap up at the end of this month.
Next will be an 8,500-metre drill program between September and December, Lantz said, to confirm and better define “indications that there is something down plunge.”
In Flin Flon, results at the War Baby deposit – long viewed as key to extending the life of 777 – “just have not been as encouraging,” he said.
“We just recently completed two holes. They are currently being logged. We will do some borehole pulsing, and again [the] current plan is to do a couple more holes, but really results to date at 777 have not been that encouraging.”
Alan Hair, senior vice-president and chief operating officer, agreed with that assessment.
“I mean, we’ve obviously been drilling in other areas in 777, not just War Baby,” he said. “I mean, as Brad indicated, it very much looks as if 777 is now approaching the end of its life in terms of ability to extend the reserves any further.”
Whether that evaluation proves accurate remains to be seen. Hudbay plans to spend at least $20 million on Flin Flon-Snow Lake exploration this year, a 25 per cent increase over 2014.
According to current estimates, 777 mine will be depleted in 2020. The mine produced its first batch of ore in July 2003.
In an unrelated matter during the conference call, Hudbay CEO David Garofalo estimated that one-fourth to one-third of the company’s 73,000 tonnes of unsold copper concentrate is in Manitoba. The rest is in Peru, home of the Constancia mine.
That translates into about 18,250 to 24,333 tonnes in Manitoba and 48,667 to 54,750 tonnes in Peru.
In Snow Lake, where Hudbay owns the former New Britannia mine gold mill, Hair told the conference call there is currently “a comprehensive set of studies” underway to address how the mill will fit “into the overall Snow Lake picture.”
“There’s quite a few moving parts and we want to make sure we get them all connecting properly,” he added. “So we’re looking to have some insight to those numbers by the first quarter of next year.”