&lt;Noranda Inc> said production at its Murdochville Quebec copper mine was shut down by the fire that trapped 44 miners and killed at least one. Noranda spokesman Denis Morin said it was impossible to judge right now how long the shutdown might last but said he thought it could be at least one week. The mine produced 1792000 metric tons of ore in 1986 Morin said. It has a mineral inventory of 35065000 tons. In the mines three zones last year copper grade was 1.10 pct at Needle Mountain 0.30 pct at Copper Mountain Oxide and 1.32 pct at Murdochville Morin said. Another Noranda spokesman said the smelter at Murdochville which has not been shut down has the capacity to treat 218000 tons of mineral concentrate per year. The smelter treats ore from other mines as well as product from the Murdochville facility he said.
NORANDA'S MURDOCHVILLE MINE SHUT DOWN BY FIRE