Mining News: Northern Neighbors: Smelters line up to buy Prairie Creek concentrates

Canadian Zinc Corp. March 3 said it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Korea Zinc for the sale of roughly 20,000 to 30,000 wet metric tons of zinc sulfide concentrates; 15,000 to 20,000 wet metric tons of lead sulfide concentrates; and 5,000 metric tons of lead oxide concentrates per year, for a minimum period of five years from the date of startup of its Prairie Creek Mine in Northwest Territories. Canadian Zinc also has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Boliden regarding the sale of at least 20,000 dry metric tons and up to 40,000 dry metric tons of zinc sulfide concentrates, per year, for a minimum of five years from the start of regular deliveries from Prairie Creek. “These off-take arrangements with two of the pre-eminent smelting companies in the world … represent a major step forward in the development of the Prairie Creek Mine and move Canadian Zinc closer to production,” explained Canadian Zinc Chairman and CEO John Kearney. These agreements represent all of the planned production of zinc concentrate and about half of the planned production of lead concentrate for the first five years of operation at the Prairie Creek Mine. The MOUs outline the intentions of Korea Zinc and Boliden to enter into sales agreements with Canadian Zinc for the concentrates to be produced from Prairie Creek on the general terms set out in the MOUs, including commercial terms which are to be kept confidential. “In negotiating these arrangements for the future sale of Prairie Creek concentrates, Canadian Zinc has secured the annual offtake and sale of a minimum of 40,000, and potentially up to 70,000 metric tons, of zinc concentrates and 20,000 to 25,000 metric tons of lead concentrates, per year, and with the flexibility for any remaining unallocated concentrate being available for third party or spot market sales,” Kearney said. Korea Zinc, a world-class general non-ferrous metal smelting company, operates zinc smelters in Korea and Australia and a lead smelter in Korea. Boliden, a metals company with Nordic roots, has five smelters in northern Europe, including zinc smelters in Finland and Norway and a lead smelter in Sweden.

–Shane Lasley