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The August 2014 tailings pond breach at Imperial Metal’s Mount Polley mine has cost the company over $60 million to date
Imperial Metals (TSX:III) had revenue of $56 million in 2015’s third quarter, more than double the $23 million reported in the same period last year, the company announced November 12.
Imperial began recording revenue from its Red Chris mine during the quarter after production commenced earlier in the year. This most recent fiscal period included three shipments of concentrate from the mine, while Q3 2014 included only one shipment from the company’s Mount Polley mine.
In last year’s third quarter, Mount Polley suffered a tailings pond breach that led to the release of 10 million cubic metres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of slurry into Polley Lake and Hazelton Creek. In January 2015, a panel of engineering experts determined the breach was caused by a fundamental design flaw in the foundation of the mine’s tailings dam.
Up to the end of Q3 2015, the tailings disaster has cost the company $62.4 million for rehabilitation. Imperial has received $25 million in insurance recovery. The company has recorded a $5 million provision for future rehabilitation costs.
The company had a Q3 net loss of $29 million or $0.37 per share, compared with $49 million or $0.66 per share last year. Adjusted net loss was $9.4 million or $0.12 per share, which includes the non-recurring provision for the tailings breach rehabilitation and a $33 million foreign exchange loss related to the weak Canadian dollar.
During Q3, the company completed $80 million in three rounds of financing.
Imperial’s Mount Polley tailings pond breach has been called the worst mine disaster in the province’s history and has called into question the safety of the 98 other mine tailings ponds across British Columbia.
-With files from Nelson Bennett
https://www.biv.com/article/2015/11/imperial-metals-reports-jump-revenue-q3-after-comm/
