copper copper prices were weak in 1976 while operating costs increased resulting in lower earnings than those achieved in 1975 prices for copper were modestly above the very depressed levels of 1975 and dramatically below the record high of 1.52 a pound reached in april 1974 lon don metal exchange prices for copper ranged between 51.3 and 76.7 cents per pound during utah's fiscal year and fol lowing a price drop during the fourth quar ter closed at 56.2 cents utah's wholly owned participation in copper is through the island copper mine where ore is mined by open-pit methods located at the north end of vancouver island facilities include a mill with an ore throughput capacity of 38,000 tons per day a deep-water port adjacent to the mill and a housing development in the nearby town of port hardy island copper ships its entire copper concentrate output to two japanese cus tomers under long-term sales contracts terms of the agreements including an agreement finalized during may 1976 pro vide for a sales price based upon london metal exchange prices ore milled at island copper during the year was of lower grade than that milled in 1975 and the percentage recovery of copper was down as a result 1976 ship ments of 100 million pounds of copper were below 1975's record total of 116 mil lion pounds and unit costs were up sharp ly copper recoveryis expected to improve in 1977 enabling greater production and a corresponding reduction in unit costs the average price realized per pound of copper shipped from island copper during 1976 was 64 cents which compares favor ably with 57 cents during 1 975 prices and shipments of gold the mine's most im portant by-product were substantially lower in 1976 island copper's 1976 ship ments of 43,000 ounces of gold at an aver age price of 1 24 per ounce compares with deliveries of 62,000 ounces at an average price of 168 per ounce during 1975 during 1976 the provincial government of british columbia abolished a mineral royalty program which had been in effect since 1974 at the same time the govern ment announced an increase in the min eral resource tax but on balance it is expected that the policy shift will have a positive impact on island copper's future earnings operations of 25%-owned cyprus pima mining company in arizona include an open-pit mine and a mill with the capacity to handle approximately 53,500 tons of ore per day deliveries of copper during 1976 totaled 134 million pounds as compared to 165 million pounds during 1975 ap proximately 45 of cyprus pima's 1976 output was sold at the u.s producers price and the average price per pound of all copper sold was 65 cents as compared to 61 cents in 1975 shiploading facilities adjacent to the island copper mine's concentration mill include a conveyor system capable of transferring up to 1,000 tons of concentrates an hour from a 35,000-ton capacity storage facility into the holds ol a chartered transport vessel