VANCOUVER - Copper Mountain Mining Corp. (TSX:CUM) expects to produce between 85 million to 90 million pounds of copper in 2012 from the first full year of production at its newly opened mine in southern British Columbia.

The Vancouver company said early Monday it will also produce between 25,000 to 30,000 ounces of gold, and 580,000 to 600,000 ounces of silver from the Copper Mountain mine.

The mine is a joint venture with a major Japanese metals producer.

Total cash costs of production are estimated between $1.77 to $1.82 per pound of copper after gold and silver credits, Copper Mountain said in a release before stock markets opened.

The mine opened in September and produced 22.2 million pounds of copper, 7,800 ounces of gold, and 161,800 ounces of silver during its fourth months of operations in 2011.

Copper Mountain ships its copper to smelters in Japan.

Copper Mountain owns 75 per cent of the mine and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. holds 25 per cent. The mine is south of Princeton, B.C. and has a current resource estimate of about five billion pounds of copper.