First gold production from copper miner Hudbay’s New Britannia mill, in Manitoba, is less than a year away, with the refurbishment project continuing ahead of schedule, the Toronto-listed company reported on Tuesday.

In its third-quarter results, the miner said that the New Britannia refurbishment was about 64% complete.

The gold plant will be commissioned in mid-2021 – about three months earlier than planned. First gold is expected in the third quarter of next year.

New Britannia is the processing plant for the Lalor mine, in the Snow Lake region. The refurbishment will more than double gold production from the Lalor mine to 150 000 oz/y by 2022, at cash costs and sustaining cash costs, net of by-product credits, of about $480/oz and $655/oz, respectively, during the first eight years of the gold plant's operation.

The New Britannia project includes the refurbishment of the mill itself and a new-build copper flotation building.

While the copper flotation building is being constructed, the company plans to install modular flotation cells at the gold plant to optimise copper recoveries as the company starts early processing of gold and copper/gold ores.

Meanwhile, Hudbay reported that it increased its third-quarter production by 41% from the second quarter to 25 395 t, with the increase mainly the result of the successful ramp-up at Constancia after the eight-week temporary suspension from mid-March to mid-May.

Consolidated gold production decreased by 10% compared with the second quarter of 2020, owing to lower production from Manitoba as a result of the planned maintenance at the Lalor mine in the third quarter and the record quarterly gold production achieved in the second quarter in Manitoba.

Consolidated zinc production in the third quarter was in line with the second quarter of 2020.

In the third quarter of 2020, consolidated cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, was $0.65, higher than the second quarter of 2020 when cash costs, net of by-product credits, were more heavily impacted by the lower cash costs in Manitoba owing to the temporary Peru suspension. Incorporating sustaining capital, capitalised exploration, royalties, selling, administrative and regional costs, consolidated all-in sustaining cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, in the third quarter of 2020 was $2.25 higher than the prior quarter owing to the same factors affecting cash costs, and higher sustaining capital expenditures.

The miner reported a net loss and loss a share of $24-million and $0.09, respectively, compared with a net loss and loss a share of $51.9-million and $0.20, respectively, in the second quarter of 2020.

Adjusted net loss in the third quarter of 2020 was $25.4-million, or $0.10 a share. This compares with an adjusted net loss of $51.9-million, or $0.15 a share, in the second quarter of 2020.