GOLD AND PRECIOUS METALS — Wheaton River posts loss for 1997

Wheaton River Minerals (WRM-T) has reported a net loss of $1.6 million (or 4cents per share) for the year ended Dec. 31, 1997, compared with a net loss of $4.2 million (13cents per share) in 1996.

The highlight of 1997 for Wheaton was the resumption of operations at the company’s rejuvenated Golden Bear gold mine in northwestern British Columbia following the depletion of known ore zones in 1994. Wheaton holds an 82% interest in the mine’s owner, North American Metals (NAM-V).

Golden Bear’s production for the year totalled 30,900 oz. gold at a cash operating cost of US$213 per oz. Total cash costs, including royalties, were US$226 per oz.

The mine’s output generated sales of $15.1 million for Wheaton. Earnings from mining operations were $1.7 million in 1997, compared with nil in 1996.

At year-end, Wheaton had a cash balance of $15 million, up from $1.3 million the previous year. However, it also had an outstanding bank loan of $10.5 million, added to the books in 1997.

In late 1997 and early 1998 Wheaton made a cash gain of $9.9 million by repurchasing 125,000 oz. of gold it had previously sold forward. In January 1998, the company used $6.5 million of this gain to reduce its bank loan to $4 million. By early May, the company’s cash position stood at roughly $8 million.

At Wheaton’s other key asset, the Bellavista gold project in Costa Rica, work is under way on a US$2.2-million feasibility study (T.N.M., May 11-17/98).