Ivernia Suspends Mining

Article Excerpt

IVERNIA INC. $1.20 (Toronto symbol IVW; SI Rating: Speculative)(416-867-9298; www.ivernia.com; Shares outstanding: 134.7 million; Market cap: $161.7 million) has now temporarily closed its 100% owned Magellan mine in Australia. Meanwhile, Ivernia is seeking approval to ship the lead concentrate in enclosed and double-sealed containers. These will be transported from the mine site, through the port, and then on to customers in Asia. The company anticipates the approval process taking three to four months. Ivernai produces lead at the mine and then trucks the ore concentrates 700 kilometers across the Outback, to the town of Esperance, on the south coast of Western Australia. The company has had to suspend production pending the outcome of government investigations into recent bird fatalities at the Port of Esperance. Up to 4,000 birds died in Esperance between early December and January. Tests on four birds showed that two died of lead poisoning. Tests of port workers and Esperance residents showed most had blood lead levels well below…