Kakula development now more than half complete

The loss includes a Cdn$598 million impairment charge on its Fort Hills oil sands project in Alberta.

The world’s second biggest mining company has scrapped its dividend policy as a result.

The report didn’t identify the metals but said researchers were looking at cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc.

The move could have driven away investors at a time of historically low commodity prices and energy shortages that are driving down output in the country.

The B.C. government is throwing the mining industry an emergency lifeline in the form of deferred electricity bill payments that could be worth more than $300 million.

Company has already told employees that the mine will shut down in August.

The world’s most populous country has been the primary engine of economic growth for decades, but recently investor optimism around China has diminished significantly.

Firms says the affected pipe only carries ground ore mixed with water.

Mining financier and entrepreneur Ross Beaty told an audience at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference in late January that it’s a “phenomenal” time to buy resource stocks.