TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 01/23/14 -- Lundin Mining Corporation (TSX: LUN)(OMX: LUMI) ("Lundin Mining" or the "Company") reports the following production results for the fourth quarter and full year 2013:
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Full Year 2013 2013
Q4 2013 2013 Revised(1,2) Original(1,3)
Production Production Production Production
(contained tonnes) Results Results Guidance Guidance
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Copper Neves-Corvo 15,499 56,544 50,000 - 50,000 -
55,000 55,000
Zinkgruvan 894 3,460 3,500 - 4,000 2,500 - 3,500
Aguablanca 1,685 6,242 5,500 - 6,000 4,500 - 5,000
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Wholly-owned 18,078 66,246 59,000 - 57,000 -
65,000 63,500
Tenke (@24%) 12,155 50,346 50,000 47,000
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Total attributable 30,233 116,592 109,000 - 104,000 -
115,000 110,500
Zinc Neves-Corvo 14,456 53,382 50,000 - 45,000 -
55,000 50,000
Zinkgruvan 18,340 71,366 73,000 - 73,000 -
78,000 78,000
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Total 32,796 124,748 123,000 - 118,000 -
133,000 128,000
Lead Neves-Corvo 849 1,496 nil nil
Zinkgruvan 7,119 32,874 33,000 - 33,000 -
36,000 36,000
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Total 7,968 34,370 33,000 - 33,000 -
36,000 36,000
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Nickel Aguablanca 2,113 7,574 6,500 - 7,000 5,000 - 5,500
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(1.) Production guidance is based on certain estimates and assumptions,
including but not limited to; mineral resource and reserves,
geological formations, grade and continuity of deposits and
metallurgical characteristics, amount and timing of costs, foreign
exchange and commodity prices.
(2.) Guidance as presented in the Company's Management Discussion and
Analysis as at September 30, 2013.
(3.) Original production guidance was disclosed on December 5, 2012 in a
news release entitled "Lundin Mining Provides Operating Outlook for
2013-2015".
Paul Conibear, President and CEO, commented, "We are very pleased, once again, with our performance as we have exceeded the high-end of our annual production guidance targets for copper and nickel while meeting our overall zinc and lead targets in 2013. At Tenke an annual production record was set once again in 2013, and looking forward we expect the operation will continue to provide significant cash distributions back to the Company.
For 2014, we remain very well positioned to deliver another year of strong operating results at all our operations and we continue to look forward to bringing the high grade Eagle Project into production in the fourth quarter."
2014 production guidance(1) has been updated to reflect recent guidance from Freeport on Tenke production and costs, but remains otherwise unchanged from that presented in our "Lundin Mining Provides Operating Outlook for 2014-2016" news release dated December 4, 2013 and is as follows:
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2014 Guidance(1)
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(contained tonnes) Production C1 Cost(3,4)
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Copper Neves-Corvo 50,000 - 55,000 $1.90/lb
Zinkgruvan 3,000 - 4,000
Aguablanca 5,000 - 6,000
Eagle 2,000 - 3,000
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Wholly-owned 60,000 - 68,000
Tenke (@24%) 48,400(2) $1.28/lb
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Total attributable 108,400 - 116,400
Zinc Neves-Corvo 60,000 - 65,000
Zinkgruvan 75,000 - 80,000 $0.35/lb
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Total 135,000 - 145,000
Lead Neves-Corvo 2,000 - 2,500
Zinkgruvan 27,000 - 30,000
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Total 29,000 - 32,500
Nickel Aguablanca 6,000 - 7,000 $4.50/lb
Eagle 2,000 - 3,000
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Total 8,000 - 10,000
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(1.) Production and C1 Cash Cost guidance is based on certain estimates and
assumptions, including but not limited to; mineral resource and
reserves, geological formations, grade and continuity of deposits and
metallurgical characteristics, amount and timing of costs, foreign
exchange and commodity prices.
(2.) Freeport provided 2014 sales guidance which has been assumed to
approximate Tenke's production.
(3.) Cash costs remain dependent upon exchange rates (EUR/USD: 1.30,
USD/SEK: 6.50) and metal prices (Cu: $3.15, Zn: $0.87, Pb: $1.00, Ni:
$6.50, Co: $12.00).
(4.) Cash cost is a non-GAAP measure reflecting the sum of direct costs
less by-product credits.
Operational Commentary
-- Neves-Corvo: Total copper production exceeded the original guidance for
the year, largely as a result of higher than expected throughput.
-- Mining of the Lombador ore bodies commenced, as planned during 2013,
resulting in higher zinc grades and record annual zinc production. With
a full year of production from Lombador in 2014, zinc metal production
is expected to reach 60,000-65,000 tonnes.
-- Zinkgruvan: Zinc and lead production were slightly below guidance
levels largely as a result of lower than planned throughput levels
caused by paste backfill and local ground control issues particularly
early in the year. Despite steady production at rates of over 18kt of
zinc production per quarter in the last three quarters of 2014, the
mine was not able to catch up by the end of the year on the shortfall
resulting from poor first quarter production.
-- Aguablanca: Excellent production performance from the Aguablanca open
pit throughout the year resulted in throughput, nickel and copper
grades and metallurgical recoveries all being above expectations.
Production of copper and nickel were well above guidance as a result.
-- Eagle: At Eagle, the project is proceeding well and remains on schedule,
on budget, for commissioning and first concentrate sales during the
fourth quarter of this year.
-- Tenke: During 2013, Tenke achieved record mining and production rates
facilitated by new Phase II expansion facilities that outperformed
above design tonnage of 14,000 tpd. Throughput averaged approximately
14,900 metric tonnes of ore per day over the year, with November and
December exceeding 16,000 metric tonnes of ore per day. As a result,
attributable copper production was above guidance. During the third
quarter of 2013, Tenke experienced power interruptions, which impacted
operating rates. Power availability improved during the fourth quarter
and Tenke continues to work with its power provider and authorities to
establish more consistent and reliable power availability.
2013 Operating Statistics
Details of operating statistics by mine, by quarter and for the year follow in the attached table:
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Total Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1
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Neves-Corvo
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Ore mined, copper (000 tonnes) 2,535 674 618 648 595
Ore mined, zinc (000 tonnes) 968 236 255 266 211
Ore milled, copper (000 tonnes) 2,525 664 628 654 579
Ore milled, zinc (000 tonnes) 974 232 265 264 213
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Grade per tonne
Copper (%) 2.6 2.8 2.4 2.5 2.7
Zinc (%) 7.1 8.1 7.3 6.6 6.2
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Recovery
Copper (%) 84.5 80.7 81.1 86.0 90.8
Zinc (%) 74.1 74.0 73.2 76.1 73.2
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Concentrate grade
Copper (%) 23.6 23.7 23.7 23.5 23.6
Zinc (%) 47.7 46.8 48.0 48.5 47.5
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Production (contained metal)
Copper (tonnes) 56,544 15,499 12,629 14,102 14,314
Zinc (tonnes) 53,382 14,456 14,723 13,940 10,263
Lead (tonnes) 1,496 849 416 231 -
Zinkgruvan
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Ore mined, zinc (000 tonnes) 911 216 230 222 243
Ore mined, copper (000 tonnes) 214 61 58 43 52
Ore milled, zinc (000 tonnes) 924 217 229 248 230
Ore milled, copper (000 tonnes) 222 59 58 49 56
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Grade per tonne
Zinc (%) 8.5 9.1 9.0 8.5 7.5
Lead (%) 4.2 3.9 4.5 4.9 3.4
Copper (%) 1.7 1.6 1.9 1.1 2.2
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Recovery
Zinc (%) 90.7 92.7 90.9 88.5 90.6
Lead (%) 84.8 83.6 84.5 85.5 85.2
Copper (%) 89.8 91.7 88.2 82.6 92.9
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Concentrate grade
Zinc (%) 53.7 54.8 53.3 53.1 53.7
Lead (%) 73.4 75.1 73.5 74.1 70.4
Copper (%) 25.4 26.2 24.7 23.8 26.1
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Production (contained metal)
Zinc (tonnes) 71,366 18,340 18,743 18,599 15,684
Lead (tonnes) 32,874 7,119 8,703 10,461 6,591
Copper (tonnes) 3,460 894 973 447 1,146
Aguablanca
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Ore mined (000 tonnes) 1,785 459 539 409 378
Ore milled (000 tonnes) 1,606 438 378 387 403
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Grade per tonne
Nickel (%) 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5
Copper (%) 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
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Recovery
Nickel (%) 82.8 81.8 82.6 83.8 82.4
Copper (%) 93.8 94.2 94.2 93.9 93.2
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Concentrate grade
Nickel (%) 6.8 6.7 6.7 6.9 6.8
Copper (%) 5.6 5.3 5.6 5.6 6.0
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Production (contained metal)
Nickel (tonnes) 7,574 2,113 1,788 1,876 1,797
Copper (tonnes) 6,242 1,685 1,485 1,516 1,556
Further information will be published in the Company's report on operating and financial results for year which is scheduled for release on February 20, 2014.
About Lundin Mining
Lundin Mining Corporation is a diversified base metals mining company with operations in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the United States, producing copper, zinc, lead and nickel. In addition, Lundin Mining holds a 24% equity stake in the world-class Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Freeport Cobalt Oy business, which includes a cobalt refinery located in Kokkola, Finland.
On Behalf of the Board,
Paul Conibear, President and CEO
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the statements made and information contained herein is "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the Ontario Securities Act. This release includes, but is not limited to, forward-looking statements with respect to the Company's estimated full year metal production and C1 cash costs, as noted in the Segmented Guidance section and elsewhere in this document. These estimates and other forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties relating to the estimated cash costs, the timing and amount of production from the Eagle Project, the cost estimates for the Eagle Project, foreign currency fluctuations; risks inherent in mining including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected geological formations, ground control problems and flooding; risks associated with the estimation of mineral resources and reserves and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; the potential for and effects of labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or shortages of labour or interruptions in production; actual ore mined varying from estimates of grade, tonnage, dilution and metallurgical and other characteristics; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations; uncertain political and economic environments; changes in laws or policies, foreign taxation, delays or the inability to obtain necessary governmental permits; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described under Risk Factors Relating to the Company's Business in the Company's Annual Information Form and in each management's discussion and analysis. Forward-looking information may also be based on other various assumptions including, without limitation, the expectations and beliefs of management, the assumed long term price of copper, zinc, lead and nickel; that the Company can access financing, appropriate equipment and sufficient labour and that the political environment where the Company operates will continue to support the development and operation of mining projects. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
Lundin Mining Corporation
Sophia Shane
Investor Relations North America
+1-604-689-7842
Lundin Mining Corporation
John Miniotis
Senior Manager Corp Development & Investor Relations
+1-416-342-5565
Lundin Mining Corporation
Robert Eriksson
Investor Relations Sweden
+46 8 545 015 50
