Pembridge to boost copper output at Minto mine

The Minto mine has been in operation since 2007 with underground mining commencing in 2014. (Image courtesy of Minto Metals.)

Pembridge Resources (LON: PERE) said on Friday that 2021 copper production at its Canadian subsidiary Minto Metals (CVE: MNTO) jumped 46%, and that it has deferred a $5 million payment to Capstone Mining, the company from which it bought the Minto mine in 2019.

The Minto copper-gold-silver mine churned out 26 million pounds of copper last year, compared with 17.8 million pounds produced in 2020. The Yukon-based operation also yielded 11,783 ounces of gold and 135,354 ounces of silver in 2021.

This year, Pembridge expects the mine to produce between 28 million and 31 million pounds of copper, operating at an average throughput of 3,000 tonnes a day for the first half of 2022 and 3,250 tonnes a day for the second half.

It also said that Minto Metals had reached an agreement with Capstone to defer paying part of the purchase price obligation and paid a further $10 million of that obligation in December 2021.

The remaining $5 million will be paid in 2023, Pembridge said.