Rio Tinto, Panguna stakeholders to address mine legacy impacts at roundtable
The Panguna Mine Legacy Impact Assessment is expected to be published later this month.
Mercator Minerals has secured a permit for operating its El Pinar porphyry copper project in Mexico.
Vancouver-based Mercator said Tuesday it has made the final payment for the change of land use (CUS) permit allowing it to commence mining the property, located 15 kilometres south of the Arizona-Mexican border.
Detailed engineering, environmental studies and right of way on the power transmission line and access road have also been advanced, according to the company.
“Our immediate focus is to continue to de-risk the project, improve the project’s economics and ensure the project is construction-ready once value-accretive financing is secured,” said Mercator President and CEO Bruce McLeod.
A feasibility study is expected before the end of the first quarter.
Yesterday Mercator announced production data from its Mineral Park Mine in Arizona. A third-quarter mill expansion had the mine producing 11.3 million pounds of copper, 2.3 million pounds of molybdenum in concentrates and 204,000 ounces of silver in the fourth quarter.
The stock rose 5.5% yesterday but was changing hands about 1% lower on Tuesday.
