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Canada

Manitoba (Snow Lake) Operation

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Zinc
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Longhole open stoping
  • Mechanized Cut & Fill
  • Post Pillar Cut & Fill
  • Longitudinal retreat
  • Drift & Fill
  • Transverse open stoping
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SnapshotIn addition to 100% owned Lalor mine in northern Manitoba(Snow Lake operations), Hudbay Minerals owns and operates a portfolio of processing facilities, including Stall concentrator, which produces zinc and copper concentrates, and recently refurbished New Britannia mill, which produces copper concentrate and gold/silver doré. Also Hudbay Minerals owns a number of properties in the Snow Lake region that have the potential to provide additional feed for Snow Lake operations.

Following the closure of the 777 mine, the Flin Flon concentrator and tailings impoundment area were placed on care and maintenance, providing optionality should another mineral discovery lead to a new mine in the Flin Flon area.

Prior to the Rockcliff Transaction, Rockcliff was Hudbay’s 49% joint venture partner of the Talbot deposit. The Talbot deposit and the additional Rockcliff exploration properties provide further optionality and potential future feed sources for the Stall and New Britannia mills.
Related Assets777 Mine, Lalor Mine, Reed Mine

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Hudbay Minerals Inc. 100 % Direct
Hudbay 100% owner Lalor Mine, an underground gold, zinc and copper mine near Snow Lake, Manitoba.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Footwall hosted
  • Orogenic
  • VMS
  • Vein / narrow vein
  • Hydrothermal

Summary:

The deposits of interest in this Technical Report are classified as VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphides). VMS deposits are an important source of copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver (Cu, Zn, Pb. Au and Ag) and form at or near the seafloor where circulating hydrothermal fluids driven by magmatic heat that have quenched through mixing with bottom waters or porewaters in near-seafloor lithologies. Massive sulfide lenses vary widely in shape and size and may be podlike or sheetlike. The location of VMS deposits is often controlled by synvolcanic faults and fissures, which permit a focused discharge of hydrothermal fluids. Massive sulphide ore in VMS deposits consists of usually more than 40 percent sulfides, dominated by pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena. Non-sulfide gangue typically consists of quartz, barite, anhydrite, iron (Fe) oxides, chlorite, sericite, talc, and their metamorphosed equivalents. Sulphide ore composition may vary from Pb-Zn- to Cu-Zn-, or Pb-Cu-Zn-dominated, and some deposits are zoned vertically and laterally. VMS deposits have stringer or feeder zones beneath the massive zone that consist of crosscutting veins and veinlets of sulfides in a matrix of pervasively altered host rock.

Lalor Mine and 1901 Deposit
The mineralized envelopes are shallow dipping, with zinc mineralization defined to date beginning at approximately 600 m from surface and extending to a depth of approximately 1,100 m. The mineralization trends about N320° to N340° azimuth and dips between 30° and 45° to the north. It has a lateral extent of about 1,400 m in the north-south direction and 800 m in the east-west direction. Sulphide mineralization is dominated by pyrite and sphalerite. In the near solid (semi-massive) to solid (massive) sulphide sections, pyrite occurs as fine to coarse grained crystals ranging one to six millimetres and averages two to three millimetres in size. Sphalerite occurs interstitial to the pyrite.

The footwall gold mineralization is typical of any VMS footwall feeder zone with copper-rich, disseminated and vein style mineralization overlain by a massive, zinc-rich lens. The fact that the footwall zone is strongly enriched in gold suggests a copper-gold association which is comparable to other gold enriched VMS camps and deposits (Mercier-Langevin, 2009). Some of the footwall zones tend to be associated with silicification and the presence of gahnite.

General observations of the known gold zones indicate areas which are coarse-grained and porphyroblastic in nature are gold poor, while fine grain siliceous (± veins ± sulphide traces) and strained looking stratigraphy tend to be gold rich.

Watts Deposit
The Watts River deposit trends 020° azimuth and dips between 65° and 75° to the east. The sulphide intersections range from less than 0.3m up to 23m in core length, with a lateral extent of approximately 1,200m. Mineralization was intersected and interpreted as three lenses; Main Lens, Main Footwall Lens, and East Lens. The Main lens mineralization is comprised of coarse-grained pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and minor galena. Mineralization was projected from the surface bedrock contact to a depth of 900m below surface as massive sulphides, fine disseminations and clots. The Main Lens has been divided into Main A, B, and C representing zones along the lens where appreciable copper and zinc grades and widths have been identified. The Main Footwall Lens lies in the immediate footwall of the Main Lens at depths of 600 to 880m below surface and tends to be slightly richer in sphalerite. The East Lens mineralization lies 400m into the hanging wall of the Main lens and extends from the surface bedrock contact to 280m below surface. Mineralization consists of narrow massive sulphides, disseminated, blobs, splashes, stringers of coarsegrained pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and lesser sphalerite. The massive sulphides exhibit a durchbeweget texture, characterized by the presence of rounded clasts of clear cherty quartz and amphibole inclusions within the sulphides. This texture suggests structural milling of the wall rock and the deposition of wall rock fragments within the recrystallized sulphides. The sulphides have generally been recrystallized to a coarse grain size, but sections of finer grained sulphides do occur.

Pen II Deposit
The Pen II deposit comprises a stratabound, semi-massive to massive sulphide lens with an adjacent stringer/disseminated sulphide zone. Mineralization is characterized by disseminated to massive, recrystallized and medium to coarse-grained sphalerite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and minor chalcopyrite. Based on the drilling completed by Hudbay and Callinan Mines Ltd. the mineralization extends from surface to 500 m below surface. The current strike length of the deposit is 400 m with an average thickness of 4 m. The deposit is conformable to stratigraphy, trends to the northeast at a N40º azimuth, a 45-65º dip towards the northwest.

Wim Deposit
The Wim deposit comprises a stratabound, semi-massive to massive sulphide lens with an adjacent stringer/disseminated sulphide zone. Mineralization is characterized by disseminated to massive, recrystallized and medium to coarse grained pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and minor sphalerite. Based on the drilling completed by Murgor, the VMS mineralization extends from surface to 720 m below surface. The current strike length of the deposit is 725 m with an average thickness of 10 m. The Wim deposit is conformable to stratigraphy, trends to the northwest at a N310º azimuth, a 40-45º dip towards the northeast and a plunge of 40º to the north. In addition, disseminated and stringer sulphides occur in the stratigraphic footwall of the Wim sulphide lens and may represent the feeder zone of the stratabound sulphide lens.

SNOW LAKE GOLD PROPERTIES
The Snow Lake Gold Properties (NBM, No. 3 Zone, Boundary Zone, Birch Zone and Squall Lake Area) are considered to belong to the quartz-carbonate vein gold subtype of orogenic lode gold deposits. This subtype of gold deposits consists of simple to complex quartz carbonate vein systems associated with brittle-ductile rock behaviour, corresponding to intermediate depths within the crust, and compressive tectonic settings.

At the regional scale, the quartz-carbonate vein gold deposits occur in two contrasting geological environments: deformed clastic sedimentary terranes and deformed volcano-plutonic terranes containing diverse volcanic assemblages of island-arc and oceanic affinities. Quartz-carbonate vein gold deposits in these environments tend to occur in clusters, or districts.

At the New Britannia mine the mineralization is associated with shear zones, faults, and simple to complex vein systems. The mylonitic zones (quartz-carbonate-mica) are predominantly less than 0.3 m thick but can thicken locally to between 3 m to 6 m. The gold bearing quartz-carbonate rocks are almost always situated next to or astride the fault.

Mineralization in No. 3 Zone, Boundary and Birch Zones is hosted within sheared biotite-quartz and carbonate altered volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks that host quartz-albite-iron carbonate veins with fine to coarse gold, and is associated with acicular arsenopyrite within the veins, wallrock and wallrock fragments.

In the Squall Lake area the gold-arsenopyrite mineralization is directly associated with tabular quartz veins that are rimmed by fine-grained arsenopyrite, sub-parallel to the enclosing stratigraphy, or as tightly folded with a near vertical attitude.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnits2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Copper Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe23,35432,37237,41141,05941,383
Zinc Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe119,106115,588135,156110,582102,919
Gold Metal in conc./ doré oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Silver Metal in conc./ doré oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Copper Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Zinc Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Gold Metal in doré oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Gold Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe94,96995,69391,01488,02081,338
Silver Metal in doré oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Silver Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,080,5611,224,6101,113,250995,564801,872
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational metrics

Metrics202320222021202020192018201720162015
Daily milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,646,562 t2,553,171 t2,768,200 t2,827,752 t2,632,705 t
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,652,306 t2,625,210 t2,704,722 t2,854,255 t2,614,475 t

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20242023202220212020201920182017
Credits (by-product) Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Credits (by-product) Zinc USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -1.01 / lb   -1.23 / lb   -1.21 / lb  
Cash costs Zinc USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 1.54 / lb   1.68 / lb   1.41 / lb  
Credits (by-product) Copper USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -8.03 / lb   -6.65 / lb   -5.7 / lb  
Cash costs Copper USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 7.85 / lb   6.01 / lb   5.11 / lb  
Cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Cash costs Copper USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -0.18 / lb **   -0.64 / lb **   -0.59 / lb **  
Cash costs Zinc USD  ....  Subscribe 0.53 / lb **   0.46 / lb **   0.2 / lb **  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Copper USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 2.07 / lb **  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Zinc USD 1.08 / lb **   0.97 / lb **  
^ Guidance / Forecast.
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency20232022202120202019201820172016
UG mining costs ($/t mined) CAD 142.35  124.8  105.46  90.3  93.8  87.1  74.9  57.5  
Total operating costs ($/t milled) CAD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Financials

Units20242023202220212020201920182017
Capital expenditures (planned) M USD  ....  Subscribe
Growth Capital M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 14.1  
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 126.3   104.4   58.6  
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 140.4   122.5   98.4  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 16.8   133  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

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