Focus on Copper
6 operating mines ~ 2 significant projects • Canada ▪ U.S. ▪ Chile
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, gold and platinum group metals from its operating mines:
- Robinson mine in Nevada,
- Carlota mine Arizona,
- Franke mine in northern Chile
- McCreedy West, Levack (which includes the Morrison Deposit) and Podolsky mines in Sudbury, Ontario.
The company possesses several advanced development projects, including the
- Sierra Gorda copper-molybdenum project in Chile,
- Victoria Project in Sudbury,
- Malmbjerg molybdenum development project in Greenland.
Our intention is to grow our business by pursuing both internal and external growth opportunities. We have a strong combined history of making smart, entrepreneurial acquisitions and we will continue to explore opportunities. We will also advance our promising pipeline of development projects while supporting our operating mines. The combined skills and expertise of Quadra FNX people will be a central component of our future growth.
Our Assets
The Robinson Mine
The Robinson Mine is an open pit copper and gold operation located in eastern Nevada near the town of Ely. Quadra FNX acquired the property in 2004 and recommenced operations that year. At the end of 2010 the operation completed the transition into the Ruth pit and the mine is expected to contribute over 45 % of Quadra FNX's 2011 copper production. The operation is expected to produce 105 -- 120 M lbs of Cu and between 45 -- 50 koz of Au in 2011, contributing approximately 45% of our copper production and approximately 40% of our precious metals for the year.
The Carlota Mine
The Carlota Mine is a heap leach operation with Solvent Extraction Electrowinning ("SX-EW") processing located in the west end of the Miami-Globe mining district of east-central Arizona. The mine was built by Quadra FNX with production of copper cathode commencing in December 2008. The operation is expected to produce 30 -- 35 million pounds of cathode copper in 2011, contributing approximately 13% of our copper production for the year.
The Franke Mine
The Franke Mine is a heap leach operation with Solvent Extraction Electrowinning ("SX-EW") processing located in Region II of Northern Chile. The operation was putinto commercial production in Q3 2009 and is expected to contribute between 35 and 45 M lbs of copper cathode in 2011 contributing approximately 17% of our copper forthe year. We continue to believe that Franke deposits and nearby properties have significant exploration potential and exploration efforts are expected to re-start in 2011.
The Morrison Deposit/ Levack Complex
Morrison is an underground copper, nickel and precious metal deposit operation located in the North Range of the Sudbury Basin. It is part of the Levack Complex which includes the Levack and McCreedy West mines and comprises the high grade copper-rich footwall zones located in the lower part of the Levack Mine. Commercialproduction commenced from September 1, 2010 and in 2011 the operation is expected to produce between 30 and 40 M lbs of payable copper, 5 M lbs of payable nickel and 20 -- 25 k oz of precious metals at very favorable cash costs. This represents approximately 15% of our copper production and 20% of our total precious metals for the year. A further increase in production to over 45 M lbs per annum of copper is expected once the underground infrastructure upgrades have been completed.
The Podolsky Mine
The Podolsky Mine is an underground copper, nickel and precious metals operation located approximately 32 km northeast of the Greater City of Sudbury and the northeast rim of the Sudbury Basin. The Mine was discovered by the Quadra FNX team in 2002 and was put into commercial production on January 1, 2008. In 2011, the operation is expected to contribute 18 -21 M lbs or approximately 8% of Quadra FNX's copper production and increased focus will also be placed on exploration with the aim of expanding the existing reserve and resource base.
The McCreedy West Mine/ Levack Complex
The McCreedy West Mine is an underground copper and precious metal operation in the North Range of the Sudbury Basin, with the option to restart significant nickel production depending on economic conditions. McCreedy West is part of the Levack Complex and shares underground infrastructure with the Levack Mine. The operation is currently limited to mining the copper-rich footwall zones,and is expected to produce 5-6 M lbs of copper and 25 -30 k oz of precious metals,contributing approximately 2% of our copper production and 24% of our total precious metals for the year.
The Sierra Gorda Project
The 100% owned Sierra Gorda Project is a development-stage copper project located in the Atacama Desert of Region II, northern Chile with an NI 43-101 compliant resource of 22.5 billion pounds of contained copper equivalent. Quadra FNX is currently advancing the project through to the feasibility stage and expects to announce a new financial partner in the second half of 2011. The feasibility study envisions that the project will produce 300-500 M lbs copper perannum with significant molybdenum by products, commencing in 2014. The minelife is expected to exceed 20 years.
The Victoria Project
The Victoria Property is located approximately 30 km southwest of the City of Greater Sudbury in the south-west quadrant of the Sudbury Basin and is associated with the Worthington Offset. Drill results are confirming a deposit of some significance and Victoria is fast becoming an important development asset for the Company. The short-term objective is to advance the exploration efforts and complete a 43 101 inferred resource. While the ultimate timeline of a shaft sinking decision remains dependent on several factors, the Company continues to aggressively advance this project.
The Malmbjerg Project
Quadra FNX holds a 99% interest in the Malmbjerg molybdenum development project which is located on the east coast of Greenland. Initial engineering studies indicate that Malmbjerg is capable of producing 7,500 - 10,400 tonnes of molybdenum a year over a 15 - 20 year mine life. Malmbjerg is one of the highest grade open-pitable molybdenum deposits in the world, and now has the advantage of being fully permitted.
Our Business Strategy
Quadra FNX's strategic plan is based on growing to a production rate in excess of 500 million pounds of copper equivalent per year from diverse operations and with a pipeline of development projects in place for long term sustainability and growth.
Our strategy is to expand our base metals production capabilities, to reduce the average cash costs across our projects,to maintain our profitability throughout the commodity price cycle and generate cash flow to fund attractive investment opportunities.
- Increase Production and Diversify Operating Assets. We plan to reinvest cash flow generated from operations to fund our inventory of development projects and expand our operations. In addition, we plan to pursue acquisitions that will be value-enhancing and will grow our reserves and production base. Our acquisition strategy focuses on acquiring assets within our established core areas of expertise that are expected to create long-term value and are in poltically secure jurisdictions.
- Reduce Cash Costs. We are focused on reducing our cash costs to maintain profitability throughout commodity price cycles.
- Focus on Copper. We have considerable technical expertise and have achieved significant success in developing and operating base metal mines including copper and zinc projects. We plan to continue to focus on finding and developing long-life base metal assets that are expected to be profitable and provide us with an attractive return on capital.