Thompson Creek Metals Co. said a wall slough at the Thompson Creek mine will have a negative impact on second quarter production, but the company still believes the mine will meet its 2012 target of 16 million lb of molybdenum. Ordinarily the mine, which is in Idaho, moves about 100,000 tons of ore and waste rock per day. The company anticipates production from the Thompson Creek mine for the second quarter to be approximately 2.5 million lb of moly. Longer-term, the slough’s effect on total production for 2012 will not be material, as the company plans to mine higher-grade Phase 7 ore in the second half of the year.
The company believes the slough resulted from water pressure behind the wall due to seasonal run-off. There were no injuries or equipment damage as a result of the slough. When the slough occurred, the company believed the slough material could be removed with appropriate mining methods within a matter of days and that disruption to the mine plan for the quarter would not be significant. Soon afterward, unexpected regulatory requirements required the company to cease mining in the area of the slough. A new access road to other Phase 7 material was developed shortly after the slough occurred and mining continues within Phase 7, working around the slough.
