The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Here is the second and final part of our interview with Tom Goodman, senior vice president and chief operating officer, and David Garofalo, CEO, of HudBay Minerals. * * * REMINDER: Over the generations Flin Flonners have seen technology gradually erode the need for human labour in mining. Are there other such advancements on the way or must all the remaining work pretty much be done by human hands? GOODMAN: Like all mining companies we are continuously looking at ways to improve our productivity and competitiveness. REMINDER: Your company now faces its third lawsuit relative to the Fenix nickel project in Guatemala. It was not your decision to make, but was going into Guatemala a mistake in hindsight? Do such situations make staying closer to home in northern Manitoba more appealing? GAROFALO: Our strategic focus today is driven by some clear criteria which we believe will help us make the right decisions for HudBay over the long term. We are focused on discovering and developing VMS and porphyry style deposits in seven jurisdictions in the Americas which include Canada, the United States, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil and Mexico. All of these jurisdictions are investment grade and have a tradition of mining supported by clear and transparent legal frameworks. See 'Inv...' on pg. 6 Continued from pg. 1 When we measured our interests in Guatemala against these criteria it was clear they were not a strategic fit for the company. So, we made the decision to exit Guatemala so we could redeploy the capital and management time to pursue interests in other more suitable jurisdictions. Investing in Manitoba makes a lot of sense for HudBay because we have significant existing infrastructure to leverage, supported by a large and experienced workforce. The province is supportive of mining and it is a jurisdiction we know well and expect to be in for many decades to come. Similarly, we think Peru and the other jurisdictions I mentioned earlier are similarly appealing and that's why we will focus on pursuing opportunities in those parts of the world in the years to come. REMINDER: What is something about HudBay that you wish more people knew? GAROFALO: If there is one thing I could emphasize more about HudBay Minerals it would be the strength and talent of our operations team. Year in, year out, this group meets its operating targets while keeping costs down and, most importantly, while maintaining one of the strongest safety records in the industry. Technically, our operating team is second to none in the industry and they are the backbone of this great company. Their strength and experience is the driving force behind the construction of the Lalor project. Key people on that project team have built other mines in northern Manitoba for HudBay and they are advancing Lalor at a phenomenal rate compared to other projects in the mining industry. This team is also responsible for extending the mine life at Trout Lake into the middle of 2012, providing added cash flow to help us fund the construction of the Reed copper project. I can't emphasize enough how much of an advantage this provides us relative to our peers in the mining industry. Most importantly, it is the culture and legacy of success that we plan to export to Peru and other jurisdictions as we grow HudBay in the coming years.
