COPPER MINING: Ming mine ships first concentrate

LABRADOR – The first copper concentrate shipment from the reopened Ming copper-gold mine belonging to Rambler Metals and Mining of Baie Verte, NL, has been made, marking the official start of copper production on May 14, 2012.

The mill is processing live ore grading 1.30% Cu from the Lower Footwall zone at a rate of 35 t/h. Daily production is expected to fluctuate over the next few weeks as the circuits are optimized before the mill is automated and a more constant throughput is achieved. Copper recovery since start-up has ranged between 91% and 99%, but the average is 95%. Concentrate grade has been between 25% and 31% Cu, in light with the predicted grade of 28% Cu. Full production at a rate of 640 t/d should be achieved in the second half of 2012.

Rambler estimated capital costs to reopen the Ming mine at $25.5 million (pre-production), $27.9 million (sustaining) and $1.3 million (closure).

The detailed technical report is available at RamblerMines.com.