Despite having dealt with a failed transformer during the quarter, Copper Mountain Mining on Thursday reported “better than expected” second-quarter production results from its eponymous mine in British Columbia.

For the three months ended June 30, Copper Mountain lifted copper output by 10.5% quarter-on-quarter to 15.7-million pounds and slightly increased gold output to 5 600 oz and silver production to 71 000 oz.

The new high-energy blasting and contract crushing, ahead of the semiautogenous grinding mill, led to the production improvements; however, the company said the operational improvements were expected to be better reflected in the third quarter.

During the period, the mine shipped 28 200 wet metric tonnes of concentrate, containing about 14.7-million pounds of copper, 5 500 oz of gold and 66 000 oz of silver, which generated about $53.3-million in gross revenue.

The mill processed a totla of 2.5-million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 0.33% copper during the quarter, compared with 2.2-million tonnes in the first quarter. Mill recoveries were 87.3%, compared with 82.7% for the first quarter.

Mining activities continued from the Pit 2 and Pit 3 areas and averaged about 171 000 t/d. During the quarter, a total of 15.6-million tonnes of material were mined, including 4.4-million tonnes of ore and 10.4-million tonnes of waste. The projected life-of-mine strip ratio was 2:1, but higher in the early years.

Laurentian Bank Securities research analyst for metals and mining Christopher Chang said in a note to clients that, after a string of disappointing news flow, Copper Mountain’s second-quarter production results represented the first positive news for frustrated shareholders in some time.

"While it is likely too soon to call a bottom on the company’s operational hiccups, as one successful quarter does not make a trend, we believe a series of consecutive impressive production results could quickly remove the share’s operational overhang.

"As a result, we believe previously disappointed shareholders who have turned away from the story should begin to put the company on its watch list, as today’s results could suggest a sustained operational turnaround is on the horizon,” Chang said.