Higher costs at Sterling mine contribute to Cathedral loss

A net loss of $28,000 was reported by Cathedral Gold (TSE) for the 1992 second quarter, which the company attributed to weak gold prices and higher cash production costs at its 52% owned Sterling gold mine in Nevada.

The loss was lower than the year-earlier period when Cathedral reported a loss of $51,000, even though cash costs increased to an average US$280 per oz. gold produced from US$246 in the 1991 second quarter.

The company said this figure is at the high end of the cost-per-oz. range for Sterling, and is attributable to lower production in the first quarter. Production has now returned to budgeted levels, and the cost per oz. for the year overall is expected to be about US$265 per oz.

During the second quarter the mine recovered 3,409 oz. gold compared with 3,300 oz. in the 1991 second quarter. Mine production was 14,300 tons grading 0.23 oz. gold per ton, compared with 12,200 tons of 0.26 oz. in the 1991 second quarter.

A drill program will begin in September to test an area considered prospective for a new discovery at Sterling.

Cathedral is also planning a program of geophysical surveys at its Trendline property staked this summer to cover 1,900 acres on the Battle Mountain trend. The property is 16 miles southeast of Placer Dome’s Pipeline gold discovery.

Cathedral expects the geophysical work will outline targets for a drilling program.