Company News (April 01, 2000)

Red Dog to Optimize Mill

Cominco Ltd. and the NANA Regional Corporation have announced the initiation of a project designed to bring the mill at the Red Dog mine in Alaska up to its full operational potential. This Mill Optimization Project will allow Red Dog to produce 1.1 million tonnes of zinc concentrate per year at a grade of 56%, with a significant reduction in silica content to levels below 3%. Production of zinc concentrate in 1999 was 940,000 tonnes.

The major components of this 18-month, US$90 million project are: an upgrade of the existing water treatment capacity; a new large capacity zinc thickener; a major addition to flotation capacity; and backup power generation and fuel storage capacity.

The increase in flotation capacity will be operational in the second half of 2001. The additional concentrate will begin to reach the market in 2002.