Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (TSX: CUM) (the “Company” or “Copper Mountain”) announces that construction work on the Company’s Copper Mountain Project continues to proceed on schedule and as planned. The overall schedule for the project remains unchanged with construction expected to be completed by the end of April 2011, commissioning of equipment is scheduled to occur during May 2011, and full production scheduled to be achieved by the end of June 2011.
Preproduction mining is advancing with half of the Company’s mining fleet in operation. The Company expects the second half of the mining fleet to be in operation by mid April 2011. The Company’s main loading unit, the PC 8000 shovel is performing as expected and is loading
the 240 ton trucks to make the planned production rate of 90,000 tonnes per day. In addition to the one PC8000 shovel in operation, nine haul trucks have been assembled and commissioned as of last week. Preproduction mining activities commenced in the Pit 3 area and will
continue with the push-back on the western wall until the second PC 8000 is in operation, at which time shovel #2 will commence a push back on the eastern wall. Installation of the grinding mills is proceeding and are expected to be ready for testing by the end of April. Mechanical installation in the concentrator is well advanced with the bulk of construction activities directed at piping and electrical activities.
A commissioning team has been established for testing the plant equipment as it is completed by the contractor. The 60 inch gyratory primary crusher and associated conveyor system is virtually completed for turn over to the commissioning team by next week. Similarly, the ore stockpile recovery system and pebble crusher are essentially mechanically completed.
The Company has now concluded multiyear agreements for: the trucking of concentrate to the port, the port storage and loading, and for the ocean freight. The project currently has 534 workers on site, of which 180 are Copper Mountain personnel and the rest associated with the
construction activities. At full production, the project will employ 271 personnel.