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Princeton mine’s new owner plans $20M US in operating cost cuts

The merger with Hudbay has also raised flags recently with local Indigenous bands
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The tailings facility for Copper Mountain Mine is one of several issues raised by local Indigenous bands with the mine prior to its merger with Hudbay Minerals. Now the bands are calling out the mining companies for burning goodwill after talks broke down ahead of the merger. (Brennan Phillips - Keremeos Review)

The Copper Mountain Mine merger will be bringing with it $20 million US of “operating efficiencies”, according to a press release from its new owner.

The $429 million US merger with Hudbay Minerals was finalized on June 20, following votes by the company’s shareholders.

In its release following the vote, one of the pieces touted by Hudbay had a heading under “efficiencies”, which included $10 million US in corporate synergies from the merger, followed by $20 million US in operating cost reductions “through the application of Hudbay’s operating efficiency practices to the Copper Mountain Mine.”

The Copper Mountain Mine has employed around 400 people in recent years. It is not known how many employees will be impacted by the merger.

The CEO of Copper Mountain is not staying on and has instead retired to act as a consultant over the next year.

The merger has raised red flags with local Indigenous bands, who were in the middle of talks with Copper Mountain on an agreement on the mine’s environmental impact. Those talks broke down ahead of the merger.

The bands also aired concerns about a disregard they felt that Hudbay was showing to Indigenous people similar to how they said the company treated those in South America.

READ MORE: Indigenous bands raise red flags over Princeton’s Copper Mountain merge

About 45 per cent, based on value, of the newly merged company’s resource holdings are located in South American nations, including two projects in Peru.



Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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