2015 Forecast?

I just ran across this story about a shutdown at a copper, molybendum and silver mine in Northern Arizona because it was too expensive to keep the lights on. Silver is selling at the cost it takes to mine it and what happens if mines keep shutting down?

Arizona mine closes; hundreds lose jobs

By DAVE HAWKINS
SPECIAL TO THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

KINGMAN, Ariz. — Scores of workers were laid off at the Mineral Park mine about 12 miles north of Kingman. There was no statement or confirmation from Mercator Minerals but word of the layoffs spread from displaced workers. Kingman Vice Mayor Mark Wimpee said he’d been told hundreds of employees were impacted by the layoffs that were announced Monday and effective immediately. Wimpee and Jen Miles, the Workforce Development Manager for Mohave County, said displaced workers surfaced quickly Monday to begin job searches with the city and county.

Miles said the county had not been able to pinpoint the number of workers being laid off. State Mine Inspector Joe Hart said the company notified his office that 350 workers were impacted by the decision to cease production and put the mine into a “care and maintenance” mode.

Hart said the company said expensive electricity was the primary reason for the shutdown of the copper, molybdenum and silver mine.

Arizona mine closes; hundreds lose jobs | Las Vegas Review-Journal

expensive electric? at a mining site? guess no one uses generators for that stuff anymore.

Logan,

Diesel generated electricity is far more costly than plain old utility power produced other ways. And if this mine is just 12 miles from a town, they likely have utility power.

The only diesel generated power likely used on the site would be for the big haul trucks that use electric wheel motors although those are getting replaced by mechanical power transmission. The shovels are likely run on utility electric since they don't have to move much, anyway.

The huge power will be used in the milling process, especially if they produce the metallic copper on site.

Bottom line is the world copper price....the mine is conveniently blaming one of their biggest costs...they could have blamed manpower cost or toilet paper cost, too. (They would never blame the shutdown on having to pay too much to their upper management!!) Who will likely stay on while the mine is down. If the production cost is more than what they can sell it for, well.....

Any way you look at it, it sucks.

Jon.

I say lets all start a co-op SMF Mining INC. and buy up all these mines and sit and wait for prices to go back up and in the mean time fill old tunnels with crt's until we can mine them too lol