Hudbay is proposing a new strategy that could extend the life of Flin Flon’s main mine.
The strategy includes pursuing reserves with remnants, or small pockets of ore found underground.
“They are spread out, smaller in size and more expensive to extract than the ore that is being mined right now,” said Scott Brubacher, Hudbay director of corporate communications.
The 777 Mine is currently slated to end production in 2021, but the remnants strategy has become one of the company’s main hopes for extending the mine past 2021.
Hudbay teams have found and identified remnant areas at 777 that would require drilling.
There is one big obstacle that needs to be overcome in this process, however – whether or not it would be profitable for Hudbay to pursue remnants during the latter years of 777.
If profits are sufficient, remnant mining could keep some operations alive at the 777 Mine. The scale of a remnant project would be much smaller than a full-scale flagship mine, but would allow the site to still see some use.
Adding feed from the Lalor Mine near Snow Lake, Hudbay’s other major northern Manitoba operation, would assist in making remnant mining viable at 777.
If pursued, both the Lalor feed and remnant materials could split the cost for operating the Flin Flon mill.
Since the strategy is still in a preliminary phase, Brubacher could not confirm whether or not it will be used going forward – only that the company has discussed using remnants.
“We are working really hard to find economic ways to extend production if possible,” said Brubacher.
“Remnant mining is one way we might be able to do it, but there is a lot we have to understand better before we could make a decision or any announcement.”
