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The Carlota Mine is a heap leach -- SX-EW operation in the west end of the Miami-Globe mining district of east-central Arizona. Production of copper cathode at the Carlota Mine commenced in December 2008. History: From the early 1900's to the late 1980's, Carlota saw some minor underground mining and underwent exploration and assessment activities by a series of owners. In 1991 Cambior acquired the property and began to development studies towards feasibility and permitting. Cambior spent approximately $68 million and almost 14 years moving the Carlota project through permitting and feasibility studies in readiness for commencement of construction. Quadra acquired Carlota from Cambior Inc in late 2005. Following a project review that included infill drilling, engineering studies, detailed cost estimation and infrastructure development, Quadra produced an updated NI 43-101 technical report and received Board of Directors approval to proceed with development in November 2006. In early 2007, the net proceeds of a US$200 million term loan were secured to fund the construction and development of the Carlota Project. Construction was completed on budget and on schedule during the third quarter of 2008 and the first copper cathode was produced in December 2008. Estimated Operating Parameters: Mining is by conventional open pit methods, using drilling, blasting, loading and truck haulage of ore and waste. LME grade copper cathode will be produced onsite by the heap leach, SX-EW process. The electrowinning plant design has a capacity of 34,000 tonnes (75 million pounds) of copper cathode per year. The mine life is nine years plus two years of residual leach. Copper production projections from the Carlota mineable reserves are based on a yearly mining rate of 28 million tons of total material moved, which is the maximum material that can be moved annually under the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Carlota Air Quality Permit.
Health and Saftey: There hase been one Lost Time Accident or Reportable Incident at the Carlota project since the Company commenced construction in 2007. Production Results
Carlota Outlook: The Pinto Creek diversion channel is expected to be completed on schedule in the fourth quarter of 2009. The completion of the diversion channel allows the operation to access to the higher grade ore body underlying the creek bed, as per the mine plan. Pad performance remains a work in progress and copper production is expected to continue at a similar rate to previous quarters, with fourth quarter production expected to be in the range of 6 million pounds of copper. As a result, the mine is now expected to produce approximately 26 million pounds of cathode copper in the current year, below guidance of 30 million pounds. Based on the percolation rates achieved to date, the Company expects to produce 50 million pounds of copper cathode at Carlota in 2010. The percolation issue is being evaluated on a number of fronts including definition drilling within the pit, column testing, pad construction and ripping strategies and fines agglomeration. However, these approaches may or may not allow the percolation rate to be increased. Such an increase would increase production proportionally. Total onsite operating costs at the Carlota Mine are expected to be approximately $70 million in 2009, which is lower than previous guidance primarily due to lower acid consumption. The capital expenditures at the Carlota Mine for the remainder of 2009 are expected to be approximately $7.5 million, mainly related to the diversion of the Pinto Creek and the commencement of construction activities for phase two of the leach pad. In 2010, the amount of tonnes mined at Carlota is expected to increase by 18% leading to an increase in onsite costs of approximately $7 million next year. Capital expenditures are expected to be $35 million primarily related to the planned leach pad expansion and mine equipment purchases. Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates: The Carlota resource, which adheres to the 2000 Classification of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, and in accordance with the standards set out in NI 43-101, is classified as Measured, Indicated or Inferred based on the distance to the nearest copper sample and the number of copper composites. The Carlota Mine's mineral resource estimate was updated under the supervision of Scott Hardy, P. Eng of Quadra, to reflect the material mined during the construction and development phase of the project. Carlota Resources
Carlota Probable Mineral Reserves
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