A US court has granted the miner provisional approval to borrow $20m out of a $60m loan to keep paying salaries and cover other needs.

Super cycles occur because of the long lag between commodity price signals and changes in supply.

The company, in which Glencore Plc sold a controlling stake last month, is looking to divest its holding in a Chilean cement maker as well as real estate.

The loan is expected to fund development efforts within the mining concessions that comprise the La Cobaltera cobalt-copper project.

Copper prices recently hit a record high above $11,000, but have since retreated due to rising inventories and economic weakness in China.

Scrap typically accounts for about 9 million tonnes or roughly 30% of global copper supplies annually.

Gibraltar is the second-largest open-pit copper mine in Canada.