Lundin Mining announced on Thursday that it was going to produce less zinc and copper than its 2011 guidance. This is mainly due to unpredictable mining rates in the Portugal based Neves Corvo mine as per the company.
Paul Conibear, President and CEO of Lundin Mining, said as mentioned in the Q1 release, the high-grade reserves currently being mined at Neves Corvo are in an area subject to high stresses and therefore mining rates are less predictable. This has continued to be the case in Q2 and as a result, production at Neves Corvo was below expectations.
Mr Conibear added that they were continuing to work through this and expect things back on track by Q4 of this year, if not sooner. In order to minimize the effect, and given the high copper prices, the newly expanded zinc plant currently being commissioned will be dedicated to treating copper ore.
At the Neves Corvo mine the production of zinc is slated to be 112,000 tonnes, which is much lower than the 120,000 tonnes in the guidance. The production of copper is also down by 4,000 tonnes to 75,400 tonnes. Ludin Mining hopes that an expansion at Neves Corvo and picking up stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt project in Democratic Republic of Congo will improve its position.