Mercator ships 9 million lb Cu from Mineral Park in Q2
2009-07-08 09:20 ET - News Release
Shares issued 146,473,765
ML Close 2009-07-07 C$ 1.21
Mr. Michael Surratt reports
MERCATOR MINERALS ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS FROM THE MINERAL PARK MINE
Mercator Minerals Ltd.'s Mineral Park mine, during the second quarter of 2009, shipped 9,091,708 pounds of copper, 418,987 pounds of molybdenum and 56,441 ounces of silver. The company also generated in excess of $5.7-million (U.S.) (unaudited) in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)*on a consolidated basis, well above the $3.4-million (U.S.) required under the note indenture. Additionally, the company reports that it has made the June 30 interest payment on the secured notes issued in 2007 on time and as required.
"This was the first full quarter of production through the recently constructed mill facility at Mineral Park and although we were still making significant modifications to the circuit and going through typical start-up issues the production and cash flow during the period were impressive," said Mike Surratt, president and chief executive officer.
Key points for the quarter:
7,867,241 pounds of copper in concentrates shipped;
1,224,467 pounds of cathode copper shipped;
418,987 pounds of Molybdenum in concentrates shipped;
56,441 ounces of Silver shipped;
Mined 1,841,181tons of mill ore; 698,258 tons of leach ore; 150,858 tons of low grade stock pile;
Strip ratio 0.43 ( slightly higher than forecast due to advance stripping in a shale area to prevent slides in the pit);
1,794,329 tons milled @ 0.275% Cu and 0.026 % Mo; --Copper recoveries prior to the modifications completed in early June were 72% increasing to 77%, thereafter, compared to the target of 80%
Moly recoveries prior to the modifications completed in early June were 42%, increasing to 69%, thereafter, compared to the target of 72%;
20,292 pounds of moly shipped during the first 10 days in June, with 144,367 pounds of moly shipped from June 11th to the 30th;
Major modifications, include; rougher down draft tube extensions, redesigned Quinn moly cells, conditioning tank re-plumbing, reduced SAG mill discharge grate opening size, modified dart boxes on copper-moly feed cleaner cells, replaced tails thickener drive mechanism, recycle moly thickener into copper-moly thickener, added nitrogen system to moly rougher circuit, constructed dry nash mixing system, added moly column cell.
Mill availability of 88.8%, compared to target of 90%; --No lost time accidents year to date with a total of 214 employees.
Stage 2 work continued, with the setting of the second SAG mill into the bearings and the start of the electrical runs to the second SAG mill. Other Stage 2 work completed to date includes the pouring of the bases for the second set of ball mills, reclaim tunnel completed, concrete for second SAG mill completed, support steel for second SAG mill complete, second stage tailings thickener tank complete, copper moly cleaner circuit complete, water wells drilled. "Most of the major modifications are complete with fine tuning of the circuit an ongoing process. The first column moly cell had some impressive results and a second is under construction for the moly and will also be tested on the copper side. As our operating crews get more familiar with the ore and plant we expect to keep improving and are looking forward to an even better third quarter", added Surratt.
Gary Simmerman, BSc, Mercator's VP Engineering, a Qualified Person as defined by NI43-101, supervised the preparation of and verified the technical information contained in this release.
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