UPDATE 2-Hudbay stock boosted by new Lalor copper-gold zone

* New mineral zone could be "very significant"

* To advance Lalor project with highest priority

* Stock rises 14.6 percent to C$10.74 (Adds stock movement, in U.S. dollars, unless noted)

TORONTO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Shares of HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged nearly 15 percent on Tuesday after the miner said it had intersected a significant new copper and gold mineral zone at its Lalor deposit in the western Canadian province of Manitoba.

HudBay, whose main assets are in Manitoba and Guatemala, said drilling had encountered the copper and gold at a lower depth than the zinc and gold zones it had previously found at the deposit.

It said one drill hole had encountered gold at 13.35 grams per tonne, silver at 27.98 grams a tonne, and copper at 5.33 percent over a 34.54-metre (113.32-foot) length.

"The copper and gold intersection in (the) hole is among the best I have seen in nearly 40 years in the mining business and the new copper-gold zone may be very significant," Chief Executive Peter Jones said in a statement.

Winnipeg, Manitoba-based HudBay first discovered zinc at Lalor two years ago, and has since encountered what could be significant gold deposits.

Gold XAU= has been flirting with record levels over the past two weeks, and was at $1,015 an ounce on Tuesday, while zinc MZN0 was at 87 cents a pound, less than half its record high reached in late 2006.

Jones said the Lalor deposit is the company's focus and will continue to be advanced to a production decision with the highest priority.

The company expects to release updated estimates on the deposit by early October.

HudBay shares were up C$1.37 at C$10.74 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, touching their highest point in more than a year.

($1=$1.07 Canadian) (Reporting by Cameron French, additional reporting by Ashutosh Joshi in Bangalore; editing by Rob Wilson)