HudBay eyeing restart of Chisel mine-CEO
Tue Jun 9, 2009 4:28pm EDT
TORONTO, June 9 (Reuters) - HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) could restart its Chisel North zinc mine in Manitoba if the metal's price increase another 10 or 15 percent from its current level, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.
HudBay shut Chisel North and its Balmat zinc mine in New York last year after zinc prices fell below 50 cents a pound late last year, after topping $2 a pound in 2006.
Cash zinc MZN0 was around 71 cents a pound on Tuesday.
"We think a 10 to 15 percent increase from that price and we will be looking seriously of reopening Chisel, which can be done very quickly indeed," Jones said at a mining conference in Toronto.
That suggests a zinc price of 78 cents to 82 cents a pound would be needed to consider reopening the mine.
The company's shares rose 13 Canadian cents to C$8.10 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1=$1.10 Canadian) (Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Janet Guttsman)
