Hemlo Gold’s Giant mine boosts quarterly output

Gold production increased by 9% to 132,700 oz. in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, Hemlo Gold Mines (TSE) reports.

The company, in which Noranda (TSE) has a 45.6% interest, attributed the improvement to higher throughput and head grades at the Golden Giant mine at the Hemlo camp in northwestern Ontario. Golden Giant accounts for the bulk of the company’s production; Hemlo Gold also has a 55% interest in the much-smaller Silidor mine at Rouyn-Noranda, Que.

The company recorded cash operating costs averaging US$121 per oz. during the first quarter, down 11% from the first three months of 1992. In 1992, Golden Giant turned out 451,403 oz. at an average cash cost of US$113 per oz. At year-end, proven and probable reserves stood at 14.4 million tons grading 0.34 oz. gold per ton, good for another 13 years of operation at projected mining rates, the company says.

The two most advanced exploration and development gold projects are the Holloway in northeastern Ontario and the New World in Montana. The former could be in production by 1995; the latter by 1996.

Hemlo Gold has roughly a 58% direct and indirect interest in the Holloway joint venture, which should provide about 80,000 oz. annually. The New World project is owned by Crown Butte Resources (TSE), in which Hemlo Gold has a 60% interest. Hemlo Gold expects its share of production will total 80,000 oz. annually from the project, which is undergoing environmental and other assessment studies.