CdA Mines posts quarterly profit

Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. reported income of $11.6 million during the second quarter, compared to a loss of $5.4 million during the second quarter of 2008.

Company officials said mines in Bolivia and Mexico contributed to record silver output of 4.3 million ounces for the quarter.

Chairman Dennis Wheeler said that the Kensington gold mine in Alaska is on track to open in 2010, with projected gold production of 120,000 ounces annually over the next 12 ½ years. The company will spend about $70 million to finish the mine north of Juneau.

This spring, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Kensington mine’s tailings could be pumped into a freshwater lake. The ruling overturned a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, allowing the mine to move forward.

Becky Kramer

Bank’s results reflect downturn

Deteriorating real estate markets and the sagging national economy pulled Idaho Independent Bank first-quarter and half-year results lower, Chairman Jack Gustavel said Thursday.

For the quarter ended June 30, net income was $202,000, or 3 cents per share, off considerably from the $936,000, or 14 cents per share, of a year ago.

The Coeur d’Alene-based bank registered a loss of $2.7 million, or 43 cents per share, for the six-month period, compared with a profit of $3 million, or 46 cents per share, for the same period in 2008.

Idaho Independent booked a $6.9 million allowance for loan losses in the first quarter of 2009. Total assets as of June 30 decreased almost 10 percent from a year earlier, to $537.8 million. Total loans fell almost 11 percent to $440.6 million, and deposits slipped almost 8 percent to $446.5 million.

But Gustavel noted the bank’s risk-based capital ratio at the end of the quarter was 14.45 percent, well above regulatory minimums.

Bert Caldwell

Governor revives GM negotiations

Billings, Mont. – Gov. Brian Schweitzer said General Motors Co. has agreed to resume talks with a Montana mining company that the automaker recently dropped as a supplier.

GM canceled its precious metals contract with Columbus, Mont.-based Stillwater Mining Co. last month as part of a government-backed bankruptcy reorganization. The move brought a quick backlash from Schweitzer and members of Montana’s congressional delegation, who criticized GM for retaining contracts with two overseas suppliers in Russia and South Africa.

Schweitzer says GM chief executive Fritz Henderson told him in a telephone conversation that talks with Stillwater would resume next week.

Associated Press