Echo Bay reports loss for 1992

Gold miner Echo Bay Mines (TSE) has reported a net loss of US$31.7 million last year, compared with net earnings of US$6.8 million in 1991.

Contributing to the loss were writedowns of US$14.9 million on its investment in the Kettle River gold property in Washington state and US$3.2 million for its Indin Lake and Tonopah exploration properties. In 1992, the company’s gold production rose by just over 4.1% to 764,188 oz., while cash costs were reduced to US$237 per oz. from US$249 in 1991. The company’s average realized price for gold during the year was US$357 per oz. This compares with an average spot price on the world markets of US$344 per oz.

Echo Bay currently operates or has an interest in four producing gold mines: the Lupin mine in the Northwest Territories, the Kettle River mine, and the McCoy/Cove and Round Mountain deposits in Nevada. Reserves at these four operations totalled 7.2 million oz. gold at year-end.

The company is also involved in two advanced gold projects in Alaska. At the 100% owned Alaska-Juneau project on the Alaskan panhandle, Echo Bay hopes to develop an underground mine that will operate at a rate of 22,500 tons per day. Initial capital costs for the project are estimated to be US$270 million. At the 50% owned Kensington deposit in southeast Alaska, an updated feasibility study calls for a 4,000-ton-per-day mill to produce 200,000 oz. gold annually at about US$225 per oz.