Rio Tinto delays production at UP nickel mine

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — Company officials say they'll delay the start of nickel and copper production at the Rio Tinto Eagle Mine in Marquette County because of the economic situation and volatile commodities markets.

Rio Tinto is continuing to build the mine and had planned to begin extracting minerals in early to mid-2014. But spokesman Dan Blondeau tells The Mining Journal of Marquette (http://bit.ly/134K4j7 ) that production is now expected to start in the second half of next year.

Blondeau said construction of the mine is 80 percent complete. Work also continues on a mill in Humboldt Township, where rock from the mine will be crushed and ores removed before shipment to Canada for additional processing.

Blondeau declined to speculate on how the production delay might affect the project's workforce.

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Information from: The Mining Journal, http://www.miningjournal.net