COAL, URANIUM & OIL SANDS — Boliden to restart Los Frailes

Having obtained the necessary permits, the Spanish subsidiary of Boliden (BOL-T) is gearing up to resume mining operations at the Los Frailes zinc mine near Seville, Spain.

Operations were suspended almost a year ago after a tailings dam failure led to the discharge of solid waste and water into the Agrio River Basin and downstream. A clean-up operation was launched immediately, followed by rehabilitation of areas affected by the tailings dam failure. Subsequent studies have shown that the dam failure was the result of an earth slide in bedrock 14 metres below the original surface topography.

Boldien expects to begin operations shortly after minor technical issues relating to the permits are resolved. Once a sufficient stockpile has been mined, processing operations will begin.

At full production, Los Frailes is expected to yield up to 125,000 tonnes of zinc and 2.9 million oz. silver annually. The company is examining ways to reduce costs at the mine, which is cash-flow-neutral, in a zinc price environment of US45 cents per lb.