The company noted that at the time of the slide, some ore for milling was being extracted from the Denak West pit. That production has been increased, and since the beginning of January, most of the ore for the mill has come from Denak West, supplemented when necessary from the mine’s stockpile.

The company said it has decided to immediately purchase four new 240-ton haul trucks for delivery this summer instead of in 2009 as originally scheduled. These trucks will allow the mine to produce full time from the Denak West pit and to continue the stripping program necessary to maintain mine development. For the interim, a contractor will provide trucking services beginning in March until the new trucks are delivered.

Thompson Creek said it has also decided to proceed with its previous plans for the installation later this year of an overland conveyor to haul ore from the Denak West pit to the mill, and the associated movement of the in-pit crusher from the Endako pit to the Denak West pit.

Endako management has been working with regulatory authorities to obtain approval to resume mining in the Endako pit. In the event that approval is not obtained, the company will continue to mine ore primarily from Denak West.

A revised mine plan, according to CEO Kevin Loughrey, “allows us to achieve 2008 production very close to our previous estimate, whether or not we return to the Endako pit. If we do not mine additional material this year from the Endako pit, we will begin further development work there that will allow us to recover that ore later in the life of the mine while we are at the same time producing ore from the Denak West pit as planned.

“At the Thompson Creek mine, where we expect a gradual rise in the ore grade throughout the year, we [forecast] that molybdenum production will be between 16.5 and 17 million pounds in 2008,” Loughrey said.

The company’s total production of molybdenum (including its production at the Thompson Creek mine and its 75% share of production at Endako) is now expected to be between 23 and 24.5 million lb in 2008, compared with the previous estimate of between 24 and 25.5 million lb. For 2009, it expect total molybdenum production will be in excess of 34 million lb. Production at the Thompson Creek mine in 2009 is forecast to rise to approximately 26 million lb as the mine produces from the higher-grade areas of its orebody, while the company’s 75% share of production at the Endako mine is estimated at approximately 8 million lb.

In addition to Thompson Creek mine and its 75% share of the Endako mine, Thompson Creek Metals owns a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania. It is also developing the Davidson underground molybdenum project near Smithers, B.C.