- Diversified miner Hudbay (HBM) has restarted operations at the 777 Mine in Manitoba, following a skip hoist incident in late October
- Production was halted after a hoist rope detached from a skip, causing it to fall to the bottom of the site’s shaft
- Despite the interruption, production ramp-up was completed ahead of schedule, and the repairs are now expected to be below the original C$5 million estimate
- While fourth quarter production is likely to be hindered by the operational halt, Hudbay remains confident that its 2020 full-year production and unit cost guidance will remain within the expected range
- Hudbay Minerals is up 0.6 per cent and is trading at $8.33 per share
Diversified miner Hudbay Minerals (HBM) has restarted operations at the 777 Mine in Manitoba, following a skip hoist incident in late October.
Despite the interruption, production ramp-up was completed ahead of schedule, and the repairs are now expected to be below the original C$5 million estimate.
Luckily, no injuries resulted from the incident, but resulting repairs were originally quoted at up to C$5 million.
Nevertheless, production ramp up appears to have been completed ahead of schedule, and the repairs are now expected to be below the original estimate.
While the shaft was being repaired, the company reassigned the unused equipment and personnel to the nearby Lalor mine in Snow Lake to help offset the lost production.
While fourth quarter production is likely to be hindered by the operational halt, Hudbay remains confident that its 2020 full year production and unit cost guidance will remain within the expected range.
Peter Kukielski, Hudbay’s President and CEO, said the shaft incident was an unfortunate event, but the team responded quickly and was successful in bringing back full production ahead of schedule.
“At the same time, the team used this as an opportunity to temporarily allocate additional resources to Lalor to test the mine’s production potential and we are encouraged as to what this might mean for the future of our Snow Lake operations,” he added.
Investors appear unperturbed by the operational upset, as shares in Hudbay continue to climb, following an impressive year-to-date on the market.
Despite a marked fall at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, shares in Hudbay have been climbing rapidly all year, to be currently up more than 50 per cent on their January prices.
Hudbay Minerals is up 0.6 per cent and is trading at $8.33 per share at 10:37am EST.
