New Australian owners make plans for Pamour

In its 50th year of continuous gold production in 1986, Pamour Inc. acquired new Australian owners. In its 51st year in 1987, the company has set a production target of more than 200,000 oz gold. And by 1990, its 54th year, Pamour expects to produce in excess of 300,000 oz.

The Australian influence was in evidence at Pamour’s recent annual meeting in Toronto, where the new chairman, Robert Needham, who is also executive chairman of Giant Resources of Australia which has a controlling interest in Pamour, introduced himself to shareholders.

Calling on other Pamour executives to talk about the company’s Canadian operations, the new chairman spoke briefly about Giant Resources, which he confessed causes some name confusion with Giant Yellowknife Mines, which is 50.2% owned by Pamour. Giant Resources is owned by Ariadne Australia, a diversified Australian conglomerate.

Giant Resources, with a current market capitalization of about $900 million, has interests in Australian gold properties, as well as oil, gas and coal and base resources projects, and is also involved in high- tech research. Mr Needham said that by 1990, Giant Resources expects to be producing 800,000 oz gold world-wide (including Canadian operations) and to have a net profit of more than $50 million. Timmins-N.W.T. connection

Pamour’s traditional base of operations has been the Timmins, Ont., area, while Giant Yellowknife has been operating in the Northwest Territories. Following shareholder approval in March of this year of the Pamour-Giant Yellowknife share-property agreement, the latter became the operator of Pamour’s five Timmins area mines in addition to its two N.W.T. mines. Under this arrangement, Giant Yellowknife becomes a producer of more than 200,000 oz gold per year compared with its former level of 115,000 oz.

With expanded production from the Timmins operations and increased mill throughput at Yellowknife, its 50% interest in the Canamax Resources-operated Bell Creek Mine (the Timmins area mine went into commercial production Jan 1 of this year), and its joint-venture (with ERG Resources) heap-leach project east of Timmins (involving reclamation and recovery of gold from tailings) set to come on stream in 1988, Pamour is forecasting a total annual production by 1990 in excess of 300,000 oz gold.

The Bell Creek mine is controlled through Pamour’s new exploration arm, Pamorex Minerals, formerly known as Consolidated csa Minerals. Heap-leaching test

Pamour has a 66.2% interest in erg, which carried out a 10,000- tonne heap-leaching test during the summer of 1986. Gold recoveries of 70% were achieved from crushed low grade ore. A 250,000-tonne heap-leaching operation is planned this summer at the No 1 mine. Once the heap leaching is in full swing in 1988, the company hopes to be able to keep the operation functioning for at least eight months of the year.

At the N.W.T. operations, proven and probable ore reserves at the Yellowknife division stood at one million tons grading 0.26 oz gold per ton at the end of 1986, and at the Salmita project reserves were 12,000 tons at 0.75 oz. At Timmins, the company’s proven and probable ore reserves at the end of 1986 totalled 9.6 million tons grading 0.076 oz.

First-quarter net earnings this year for Pamour were $1.2 million. In fiscal 1986, Pamour recorded net earnings of $1.8 million.

In addition to its various operations, the company is going ahead with pilot plant work at Yellowknife for the retreatment of mill tailings which has the potential to add about 37,000 oz to the annual gold production.

Clifford Frame has replaced Dennis MacLeod as president of Pamour.