Zinc mine shut due to low prices

HudBay closes Balmat, N.Y., operations

by Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 8/27/2008 11:52:00 AM

HudBay Minerals of Winnipeg, Manitoba has closed its Balmat, N.Y., zinc mine and concentrator, a victim of slumping zinc prices which have dropped from an average $2.12/lb in the U.S. in December 2006 to 83¢ in August, according to Purchasingdata.com.

The shutdown comes “as a result of lower prices for zinc metal, continued high operating costs associated with the geology of the Balmat mine and general inflationary pressures,” Brad Lantz, HudBay's vice president, mining, says in a statement. HudBay's total zinc production for 2008 now is expected to be at the lower end of its previous guidance range of 120,000 to 150,000 metric tons.