HudBay reopens Chisel North

摘要

With the price of zinc back above 1 US dollars per lb., Hud-Bay Minerals (HBM-T, HBMFF-O) is reopening its Chisel North zinc mine and concentrator in Snow Lake, Man., which it closed in January when zinc prices plummeted to below 50 US cents. The company will immediately start ramping up operations, with full production levels expected before the middle of 2010. The Chisel North mine and concentrator produce roughly 30,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate each year, all of which is processed at HudBay's Flin Flon concentrator. To protect the reopened operations against another serious drop in the price of zinc, HudBay has hedged half of Chisel North's zinc production at an average price of 1.01 US dollars per lb. In a statement, the company said this forward sale is “intended to ensure that Chisel North remains economic at lower zinc prices, while providing unfettered upside for the remaining 50 per cent of its zinc production.”