ELKO, Nev., October 30, 2013 – Newmont Mining Corporation (NMC) is pleased to announce that its Phoenix Mine (Lander County, Nev.) has begun commercial production of finished copper. Utilizing a run- of-mine (ROM) copper leach pad and a new solvent extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) facility, Phoenix expects to produce approximately 20 million pounds of copper each year, nearly doubling its historical copper output since the site started up in 2006.
“The significant amounts of copper now being recovered at the Phoenix Copper Leach operation will help increase our profitable copper production, reduce the overall costs applicable to sales (CAS) for Phoenix and the region, and increase reserves at the site,” said Joel Lenz, General Manager of Operations for Phoenix Mine. “Beyond supporting Newmont’s strategy to build a stronger copper production profile, Copper Leach will also reduce our environmental footprint by lowering waste rock volumes,” Lenz added. “I am very proud of our team of employees and contractors who safely delivered this project on-time and on-budget.”
The additional production stream from Copper Leach will effectively transform and elevate Phoenix from a provider of raw copper concentrate (a byproduct of the site’s gold production) into a reliable source of ready-for-market, finished copper for manufacturers of copper products. “Newmont joins our team at Phoenix in thanking all those involved in safely developing and rolling out this new business enterprise, and we look forward to many more years of safe copper production,” said Tom Kerr, Senior Vice President, Newmont North America.
