Quadra boosts ore estimate at Victoria mine – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – January 17, 2012)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Quadra FNX Mining announced Monday it has increased the resource estimate of its Victoria project in Sudbury by 16%.

The results from the company’s 2011 drill program at Victoria led Quadra FNX to boost resource tonnage to 14.5 million tonnes. When operating, the mine will produce nickel, copper and precious metals.

In addition, geophysical surveys show possible extensions of Victoria. Diamond drilling in 2012 will test these areas, Quadra FNX said in a release.

Even before the latest drill results became known, Quadra FNX had said the Victoria deposit was an exciting find. Its goal is to begin production in 2017, creating hundreds of new jobs.

The Vancouver, B.C.-based company also said that during 2011, it produced 220 million pounds of copper, 103,000 ounces of precious metals and 10 million pounds of nickel.

Quadra produced slightly more copper in 2010, at 224 million pounds, as well as 148,000 ounces of precious metals and seven million pounds of nickel, with the decline in production a result of both planned and unplanned mill maintenance delays at its Robinson mine in Nevada in 2011.

For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, Quadra FNX produced a total of 59 million pounds of copper, down 1% from the previous quarter.

At its other Sudbury operations, Quadra’s Morrison deposit produced 38 million pounds of copper and 30,000 ounces of precious during metals 2011, as a previously announced lease agreement was signed with Xstrata Nickel. The agreement allowed Quadra FNX to use the underground infrastructure of Xstrata’s nearby Craig mine to further develop the Morrison deposit.

The company also operates the Podolsky and McCreedy West mines in Sudbury.

The Victoria mine property is located 30 km from downtown Sudbury near Lively. It operated from 1900 to 1923 and again from 1973 to 1978 under the former Inco.

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