Hecla Mining to produce less gold
Hecla Mining Co. will produce less gold than expected this year, due to rising costs at its Venezuelan operations, plus higher prices for fuel, company officials announced Wednesday. The cost of mining each ounce of gold is also expected to rise.
Hecla will produce about 145,000 ounces of gold this year, instead of the previously forecast 170,000 ounces, said Phil Baker, chief executive officer. Each ounce is expected to cost $290 to $300 to mine.
Hecla’s stock slipped 27 cents after the company’s announcement, closing at $3.63 per share.
About 60 percent of Hecla’s gold production comes from Venezuela. A stronger Venezuelan currency, influenced by higher by oil prices, is affecting mining costs at Hecla’s Venezuelan operations, Baker said. He also said that a new union implemented a work slow down at the mines, but that worker productivity is improving.
The company anticipates mining 6.3 million ounces of silver this year, down from earlier projections of 6.5 million ounces. The cost of silver production is also rising due to higher costs for diesel, steel and cement at Hecla’s mines in Alaska and Mullan, Idaho.
Hecla will release its third quarter results on Nov. 8.
300 Kootenai County homes sell; prices rise
Nearly 300 Kootenai County homes sold during the month of September, a slight tapering off in volume from the summer months, but prices continued to rise.
The average sales price was $208,170 for the first nine months of the year, a 31 percent increase from the corresponding period last year. The communities of Hayden, Dalton Gardens and Hayden Lake led the way, with average sales prices of $250,342, according to figures from the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service. Homes were most affordable in the Hauser-Rathdrum area, where the average sales price was $167,419.
Through September, the county’s residential sales totaled more than $537 million, a 42 percent increase over the last 12 months.
The number of homes on the market is rebounding. The MLS reported more than 1,900 active listings in September, compared to 1,400 listing a year ago.
In Shoshone County, 33 homes sold during September. The average sales price was $96,885, compared to $62,096 last year.
BlackBerry makers lose Supreme Court appeal
Washington The maker of BlackBerry e-mail devices on Wednesday lost an emergency Supreme Court appeal which sought to put a long-running patent suit against the company on hold.
Research In Motion Ltd. is appealing an infringement verdict to the high court and wanted the lawsuit stalled while the appeal was pending. Chief Justice John Roberts denied the company’s request for a stay, without comment.
Shares of the Canadian company’s stock slid 6.5 percent, falling $3.71 to $53.69 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Lawyers for RIM had argued its business would be harmed irreparably if the court did not delay the return of the case to the lower court where the company was found guilty in 2003 of violating patents held by NTP Inc.
The loss on Wednesday, which had been expected, does not say anything about a more significant issue, whether the Supreme Court will hear RIM’s appeal.