Innovation and continuing high commodity prices has added six years to the projected lifespan of Highland Valley Copper.
Highland Valley Copper is owned by parent company Teck and produces copper and molybdenum and is located between Logan Lake and Ashcroft.
The positive commitment is good news for mine employees and the communities they live in, as the newest projection means the mine should be operating until at least 2025.
“We have extended the mine’s life by six years,” says Mark Freberg, Superintendent, Environment and Community Affairs, for Highland Valley Copper.
“We were looking at closing in 2019.”
“If metal prices stay, I am confident we can have a mine life that can go until 2025.”
In 2010 the mine recorded a profit of $442 million, up from a profit of $408 million in 2009.
Freberg attributes the mine’s current success to a number of factors that have come together to give the mine its new lease on life, despite the fact it is processing lower grade ore.
“It has been a combination of some really good engineering work, a good work force, a good equipment fleet, and the strong prices that give us the confidence that we can go to 2025,” says Freberg.
Despite the mine’s projected longevity there will not be a hiring blitz to accommodate the announcement.
“There will not be any big hiring campaign because of this,” says Freberg.
“For our current employees it gives them a little more confidence that the mine will continue.”
With the mine’s lifespan increased however, it does mean that newly hired workers will be more capable and confident of investing in their communities by purchasing homes and vehicles, so it will have positive economic spinoffs for all of those involved and the communities they live in.
Highland Valley Copper is the largest open pit copper mine in Canada and is one of the largest in the world in terms of tonnage mined and milled.
