Sunshine Pares Loss For Third Quarter

Sunshine Mining and Refining Co. Thursday reported a net loss of $3.3 million, or 1 cent per share, for the third quarter of 1997, compared with a loss of $7.4 million, or 3 cents per share, for the same period in 1996.

The reason for improved operating results was higher production at a lower unit cost in the Sunshine Mine in the Silver Valley, the company said. During the third quarter, the mine produced approximately 1.2 million ounces of silver at a cash cost of $4.07 per ounce, compared with production of 537,000 ounces at a cost of $7.42 in third quarter 1996.

Sunshine’s net loss for the first nine months of the year was $16.2 million, compared with a net loss of $18.8 million for the same 1996 period. The improvement was also credited to the Sunshine Mine, which has produced 2.9 million ounces of silver so far this year. The company also saved $1.4 million in exploration expenses due to temporary suspension of drilling at its Pirquitas mine in Argentina.