A taste (see below)of how tough it is for mines. Century is world's 2nd largest Zn miner!! Done and dusted by end Nov it seems. Many Ni mines are in same boat. WSA will outlive all other Aussie Ni mines.
SYDNEY (Reuters) -
A full or partial closure of the Century zinc mine in Australia, the world's second largest, is being considered as zinc prices continue to fall, Oz Minerals Ltd Managing Director Andrew Michelmore said on Tuesday.
"It's not just all or nothing, this is one of the things we also will be looking at, do we slow this down," Michelmore told Reuters after the company released its latest production figures.
"Zinc in the ground is worth a lot more in the future than it is now," Michelmore said. "So we need to ask ourselves, what's our cost of leaving it there."
There was no timetable set out for taking a decision on Century's future, "though there is no way we would want to keep producing if we are making cash losses there," Michelmore said.
Michelmore said before a curtailment or an outright closure of the mine could occur he would also need to weigh such a move against staff redundancy and other one-off costs.
A "wide-ranging" study was underway to gauge whether the mine can still turn a profit, Michelmore said.
WSA Price at posting:
$3.53 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
