It was Geomaque’s second successive quarterly profit, bringing net earnings for the first six months of the year to US$1.1 million on revenue of US$11.8 million. In the corresponding six months of 1999, the company incurred a loss of US$507,000 on revenue of US$11.6 million.
Geomaque took a US$15.2-million writedown on the carrying value of its mineral properties at the end of 1999, leaving it with a US$20-million loss for that year.
The San Francisco mine poured 20,826 oz. gold in the second quarter of 2000, largely on the back of increased throughput. The open pit and heap-leach operation placed just over 1 million tonnes of ore on the leach pads in the quarter and just over 2 million tonnes in the first half.
The increased production — 19% higher than in the corresponding quarter of 1999 — has meant lower cash costs, which fell to US$227 per oz. for the first half, compared with an average of US$256 in 1999.
Mining at San Francisco, which had been expected to end in August, is likely to continue until October. Leaching would run for at least a year after mining ceases. The company intends to bring more resources into the reserves category, and thereby extend the mine life.
Construction is on schedule at Geomaque’s Vueltas del Rio gold project, in Honduras. Production is expected to get under way in the last quarter of the year. Vueltas should produce about 60,000 oz. annually and has a projected cash cost of US$170 per oz.
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