FNX reserves up along with earnings (March 30, 2007)

Year-end reserve estimates at FNX Mining (FNX-T) show the company replaced its reserves at the operating McCreedy West nickel mine near Sudbury, and it has also published its first reserve figure for the nearby Levack mine.

McCreedy has 1.1 million tonnes grading 0.2% copper and 1.57% nickel in its Contact zone, and another 800,000 tonnes with 1.43% copper, 0.28% nickel, 2.4 grams platinum, 1.7 grams palladium, and 0.7 gram gold per tonne in the Footwall zone of the deposit. The footwall reserve is part of a resource of 2.3 million tonnes averaging 1.33% copper, 0.26 % nickel, 2.4 grams platinum, 2.1 grams palladium, and 0.7 gram gold per tonne; in addition 550,000 tonnes grading 0.92% copper, 0.27% nickel, 3.4 grams platinum, 2.4 grams palladium and 0.7 gram gold is inferred.

At Levack, where FNX began underground work in December, there is a reserve of 1.3 million tonnes grading 0.57% copper and 1.54% nickel, part of a resource of 4.3 million tonnes averaging 1.01% copper and 2.04% nickel. Another 660,000 tonnes falls into the inferred category, with average grades of 0.88% copper and 1.91% nickel.

The resource and reserve figures do not include the Levack Main Depths deposit, down-dip from the known Levack orebody, whose discovery FNX announced in February. A 20-hole drill program intersected copper-nickel mineralization in every hole, over core lengths of 1.5 to 19 metres. Nickel grades in the initial drilling mainly ranged from 1% to 3%, with local higher-grade zones, while copper grades were more variable. Precious-metal credits were mainly around 1 gram per tonne.

FNX expects to put together a resource estimate for the Main Depths this year.

FNX earned $68.7 million (82 per share) on revenues of $170 million in 2006, up from $4.6 million earned on $84.6 million turnover in 2005.