TSX-V-listed copper and precious metals miner Magna Mining produced 4.1-million copper-equivalent payable pounds in the first quarter of the year, with both tonnage and grades forecast to increase further in the year.

The company is on track to produce between 16-million and 18-million copper-equivalent payable pounds for the full year.

Notably, Magna achieved a positive cash margin of C$6-million at the McCreedy West copper/nickel/gold mine in Ontario in the first quarter of the year, with 82 296 t of ore having been processed from the 700 Footwall Copper Zone - at a grade of 3.38% copper-equivalent.

Having recorded quarterly cash costs and all-in sustaining costs of $3.48/lb and $4.21/lb, respectively, Magna ended the quarter ended March 31 with cash and cash equivalents of $35.8-million and a working capital balance of $53.7-million.

Net revenue from mining operations totalled C$25-million in the quarter under review, compared with C$24.8-million in the preceding quarter and C$4.2-million in the same quarter last year, thereby narrowing its adjusted net loss down to C$6.4-million.

Magna spent about C$2.8-million on exploration and evaluation in the quarter, including C$2.3-million at the past-producing Levack mine, also in Sudbury, Ontario, as the focus transitions from infrastructure readiness to supporting early ore sources and new underground exploration platforms to test the R2 Footwall Zone.

The company aims to publish a preliminary economic assessment on Levack during the third quarter, as well as a prefeasibility study for the past-producing Crean Hill prospect, also in Sudbury.

Further, Magna aims to expand the mineral resource of McCreedy, having announced initial mining reserves for the 700/PM copper and precious metals zones at McCreedy West that demonstrate an initial three-year production profile.

Meanwhile, Magna has received conditional approval to list its common shares on TSX and graduate from the TSX-V around the end of July.