Pegasus, Hecla Both Post Losses Mining Companies Blame Sliding Prices For Gold, Silver
A pair of Inland Northwest mining firms reported first-quarter losses Wednesday, blaming sliding metals prices and other changes.
Spokane-based Pegasus Gold Inc. posted a loss of $15,000 in the first three months of 1997, compared with a $13,000 profit in the same period last year. Revenue was slightly lower at $48.6 million.
In Coeur d’Alene, Hecla Mining Co. posted a loss of $1.5 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a loss of $500,000, or 1 cent per share, in the same period in 1996. Total revenue was unchanged at $43.6 million.
Hecla’s stock price dipped 12.5 cents to close at $5.375 per share. Pegasus rose 12.5 cents to close at $6.938 per share.
Pegasus said in a statement that the price of silver during the quarter was $4.42 per ounce, down from $5.24 per ounce a year earlier. Gold fell to $351 per ounce, Hecla said, down from $400 in 1996.
Pegasus, however, made some gains by selling gold in advance at a higher-than-market price.
Total gold production at Pegasus during the quarter was 87,486 ounces, compared with 98,160 ounces a year ago.
The company expects production to begin this quarter at its Mt. Todd gold mine in Australia. Pegasus says it is on track to reach its goal of producing 570,000 ounces in 1997.
Pegasus also said that it has agreed to acquire up to 60 percent of Capira Dorada, a private Panamanian company that has rights for gold and silver exploration southwest of Panama City.
In addition, the company has rehired Michael Clark as senior vice president and chief operating officer. Clark was with the company from 1986 to 1992.
At Hecla, silver production more than doubled to 1.24 million ounces in the first quarter because of added production from the newly opened Green’s Creek mine in Alaska, of which Hecla controls 30 percent interest, and a slight increase in production at its Lucky Friday mine near Mullen, Idaho.
Commercial production at the Rosebud gold property in Nevada, of which Hecla has 50 percent interest, began in April, the company reported.
, DataTimes