Richmont in black for first quarter (April 25, 2003)

First-quarter results from Richmont Mines (RIC-T) show the company’s earnings were lower than last quarter but much improved over the first quarter of last year.

The gold producer earned $371,268, or 2 per share, on revenues of $9.7 million in the three months ended March 30. Richmont lost $348,427 in the first quarter of 2002, when mill shutdowns left it with only $863,306 in revenues.

Lower head grades caused Richmont’s cash production costs to creep up at both the Hammerdown mine in Newfoundland and the Beaufor mine in northwestern Quebec. At Hammerdown, which mined an average grade of 14.7 grams gold per tonne in the quarter, costs rose to US$218 per oz. from US$181 in the last quarter of 2002.

Hammerdown produced 7,657 oz. gold in the quarter, down from 9,061 oz. in the last quarter of 2002.

At Beaufor, the average grade for the quarter was 7.2 grams per tonne, near the reserve grade of the mine, but below the mine’s 8.6-gram average in 2002. Costs rose to US$228 from US$195 last quarter, on production of 12,005 oz.

Definition drilling on resources Richmont had previously outlined at the dormant Francoeur mine in northwestern Quebec accounted for almost $1.2 million of a total $1.7-million exploration budget for the quarter. Richmont expects to have a complete feasibility study on reopening Francoeur by the end of June.

The company expects to produce 100,000 oz. of gold this year, roughly the same as in 2002, and has $31.5 million in working capital.