Lundin positive on ore grades

LUNDIN Mining Corporation has announced some of the best ore grades to date close to its mine in Galmoy, Co Kilkenny.

In a statement yesterday the company said that if the latest results from drilling in areas close to the mine extend beyond the present location, the life of the mine could be extended, it said.

That will depend on future drilling results, but the group said it was extremely encouraged by its latest appraisals in Galmoy.

Though it is still too early to say the region being explored has potential to the north and the west of the current site which augurs well for the life of the mine said Neil O’Brien, senior vice president of exploration and business development for the group.

Lundin took over Galmoy in 2005 through the merger with Arcon.

In April, the group announced that zinc production at Galmoy fell 40% to 92,770 tonnes in the first quarter of 2007, compared with 153,317 tonnes of ore in the same period in 2006.

That followed the death of a worker at the mine in February which shut down operations for eight days while the standoff between management and the unions over pay were also a factor in the lower output at the time, the group said.

The group is involved in pay disputes with two unions representing 140 of the 220 workers employed at the mine. Those disputes go back to the start of the year and have impacted production in Galmoy.

That issue still has to be resolved, a company spokesman said yesterday.

Both Siptu and management are waiting for a ruling on their dispute from the Labour Court which is due on July 5. This follows submissions from both sides to the court in an effort to break the impasse.

Siptu represents 100 of the workers and the TEEU another 40. Up to 80 of the employees are non-union.