Company raising $110M for Ely copper mine

ELKO - Quadra Mining Ltd. plans an initial public stock offering that it expects to raise $110 million to purchase and operate the Robinson copper mine near Ely.

Along with the improving economy, copper prices are climbing and that should help encourage investment, according to company co-founder Bill Myckatyn.

Copper is selling as high as $1.35 a pound, compared with prices in the range of 74 cents to 93 cents in 2003 and an average of 71 cents in 2002.

The money would cover the new, lower price BHP Billiton is asking, $14.3 million, plus $18 million to cover reclamation bonding and capital to start up the mine, including buying equipment.

Myckatyn said the company has filed a prospectus with regulators in Canada as the first major step in financing.

"We expect to be actively marketing and completing financing by the end of March."

If the initial public offering is successful, the private company will become public and be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Myckatyn told the Elko Daily Free Press in a telephone interview from British Columbia.

Once the money is in place and the purchase finalized, Quadra plans to run the open pit Robinson Mine as a full-scale operation, but Myckatyn said they hope to operate with 300-350 employees instead of as many as 500 workers who were there when BHP ran the mine.

He said Quadra is already talking with contractors and beginning recruitment of senior people for the project, although nothing can be finalized until the sale goes through.