Gibraltar Mines had second-quarter net earnings of $288,000, reducing the company’s 6-month loss to $896,000 or 7 cents per share. The first- half loss in 1986 was $2.1 million or 18 cents per share.
Anthony J. Petrina, president, said the improvement reflected lower unit costs due to increased production from softer, near- surface Granite Lake. But this benefit was partially offset by higher smelter charges, he conceded.
Gibraltar has adopted a policy of selling forward and using options for up to 50% of its future copper production. Options are in place to September, 1987, to sell 5.5 million lb at an average price of 73 cents (US) per lb.
Cash flow from operations remained positive and increased by $3.7 million to $18.2 million during the half. Cathode copper sales contributed $1 million to cash flow during the period and the new plant is operating at close to design capacity of 41,000 tons per day, he said. Operating adjustments are being made to both the dump leaching system and cathode plant to maintain this production rate. These measures include the addition of a second dump area to the leach field ahead of the original schedule.
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