Quadra FNX Reported First Quarter Production Results
VANCOUVER, BC - Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. reported first quarter 2011 production and sales results. Combined production for the three months ended March 31st totaled 46 million pounds of payable copper, 26 thousand ounces of total precious metals ("TPMs") and two million pounds of payable nickel.
Production at Robinson continued to be limited by the lack of flexibility in the Ruth Pit. A secondary access ramp is being constructed, which together with the expected completion of the mud removal from the bottom of the pit by June, will significantly improve flexibility for the balance of the year. As previously indicated, 2011 production from Robinson is expected to be back end weighted. An aggressive exploration program has commenced in the Liberty Pit focusing in the near term on the potential for short term reserves that could further improve operational flexibility, and beyond this on increasing the overall reserves and mine life. Copper production from the Sudbury operations was slightly better than plan, with production at Morrison continuing to ramp up as scheduled. Nickel production at Morrison was higher than expected as a result of a larger amount of ore being sourced from higher levels of the Morrison Deposit (i.e., MD1 and MD2). At Carlota, the Company initiated the transition from truck dumping to conveyor stacking of ore on the leach pad and preliminary percolation results are positive. Quadra FNX took over mining operations at Franke and acquired much of the contractor's mining fleet. During the transition, ore was sourced from stockpiles but as of April, mining operations have resumed in the pit. Paul Blythe, President & CEO comments; "The underground operations continue to perform on target and progress continues to be made on the open pit mines. We continued to advance the Sierra Gorda feasibility study and partnership negotiations, which remain on track. We also completed an NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource at our Victoria project which confirmed a project of substantial size, as announced by a separate press release this morning. A conference call to discuss this event will be held later on this morning." Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. is a leading mid-tier copper mining company with corporate offices in Vancouver, B.C. and Toronto, Ontario. Quadra FNX produces copper and platinum group metals from its operating mines: Robinson in Nevada, Carlota in Arizona, Franke in northern Chile, and McCreedy West, Levack, which includes Morrison, and Podolsky in Sudbury, Ontario. The Company possesses several advanced development projects, including the Sierra Gorda copper-molybdenum project in Chile, the Malmbjerg molybdenum development project in Greenland and the Victoria project, an advanced exploration project in Sudbury. The company's address is Suite 2414, Four Bentall Centre, 1055 Dunsmuir Street, P.O. Box 49185, Vancouver, BC V7X 1K8, 604-689-8550, fax: 604-689-8556.