Copper Mountain Mining (TSX:CUM) assured investors Thursday morning that the earthquake in Japan would not affect copper shipments from its mine.
The Vancouver-based company is three months away from commencing full production at its Copper Mountain project near Princeton, which will be the first major new metal mine in B.C. in a decade.
Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials Corp. owns 25% of the project and has agreed to buy 100% of the mine’s copper concentrate.
On Friday, earthquake damage forced Mitsubishi to suspend operations at its Onahama copper smelter in Japan.
Copper Mountain said its partner operates two other smelters, one elsewhere in Japan and one in Indonesia.
Rod Shier, CFO of Copper Mountain, said although every contract has its force majeure clauses, Mitsubishi has reassured the Vancouver company that it will fulfill its contractual obligations.
“They’re excellent partners,” Shier said.
He added that all major equipment to finish building the mine is on site, and preproduction mining activities are under way.
Copper Mountain is expected to produce approximately 100 million pounds of copper per year.
At press time, the company’s shares were up $0.12 to $6.17.