Quadra Mining buying Robinson mine near Ely

Friday, Dec. 5, 2003 | 8:28 a.m.

REGIONAL ED: Attribute to nvlas

LAS VEGAS- Canada-based Quadra Mining Ltd. has agreed to pay $18 million for the idle Robinson mine near Ely and plans to return the facility to full production early next year.

The company, based in British Columbia, said in a statement Thursday it would buy Robinson - one of the world's largest open pit copper and gold operations - from BHP Billiton Ltd.

Along with BHP Billiton's 100 percent interest in Nevada mine, Quadra said it would buy the company's 33.6 percent interest in Highland Valley Copper in British Columbia for $73 million.

The sale of the Robinson facility was hailed by Alan Coyner, administrator of the Nevada Division of Minerals.

"While that has been rumored, it's great news," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal from Spokane, Wash., where he was attending the Northwest Mining Conference. "Ely is desperate for any kind of development, so this will be very positive news.

"The nice thing about reopening that project is that it's very labor-intensive. It's got a mill associated with it that requires a lot of workers. It's a rather large mine."

Privately owned Quadra said it plans to fund the acquisition through a share sale early next year. Melbourne, Australia-based BHP Billiton - the world's largest diversified resources company - said it expects to complete the sale to Quadra in February.

BHP Nevada Mining Co. suspended operations at Robinson in 1999 because of low metal prices, laying off 440 workers and sending Ely's economy into a tailspin.

Its population of about 4,000 is down some 800 from 1990 and stands to lose its only department store, J.C. Penneys, next summer.

Coyner said the Robinson mine, which has changed ownership several times since it was first operated by Kennicott, was not a good match for BHP, but came along with BHP's purchase of Magma Mining.

"It (BHP) was a large company with a lot of overhead. It needed big production," he said. He described Quadra as a smaller company with a different set of goals of profits for shareholders.

BHP Billiton share prices were off 3 cents at $17.14 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Robinson mine produced 61.8 million pounds of copper concentrate in 1999, along with 26,250 ounces of gold and 153,104 ounces of silver, according to the Division of Minerals.

Copper prices, which averaged 65 cents a pound in 1999, have rebounded to around 95 cents a pound. Coyner said the magic number in the industry for opening new mines is $1.

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal