Great!
9mo results
Wheaton River Minerals Ltd WRM
Shares issued 40,614,132 Oct 20 close $0.29
Wed 21 Oct 98 News Release
Mr. Kerry Knoll reports
Earnings were $2,228,615 or six cents per share during the first nine
months of 1998, compared with earnings of $1,789,094 or five cents per
share during the same period of 1997. The 1997 earnings included a gain on
the sale of subsidiary YGC Resources for $2,223,897. The company had cash
flow from operations of $6.5-million or 17 cents per share during the nine
month period, compared with a negative cash flow from operations of
$1.5-million or four cents per share for the same period of 1997. The
company had sales of $15.2-million and earnings from mining operations of
$3.8-million during the first nine months of 1998, compared with sales of
$14.3-million and earnings from mining operations of $2.6-million during
the same period of 1997. Wheaton River's cash position was $10.1-million at
the end of the third quarter, up from $6.6-million a year earlier. During
the nine month period, Wheaton River repaid $10.6-million in bank debt,
which left a balance of nil at Sept. 30.
Gold production at the seasonal Golden Bear mine in northwestern British
Columbia has exceeded projections for the second year in a row. Gold
production to Sept. 30, 1998, was 35,100 ounces. Production to the end of
the 1998 season will be approximately 35,900 ounces which is up from the
32,000 ounces projected earlier and ahead of the 30,700 ounces produced
last year. The total cash cost of production this year was $149 (U.S.) per
ounce, well below earlier projections and last year's costs. The realized
selling price for gold in 1998 was $341 (U.S.) per ounce compared with $371
(U.S.) in 1997. Currency hedging reduced the value of the U.S. dollar cash
flows received relative to recent spot prices. Realized selling prices in
Canadian dollars were $432 per ounce versus $522 last year.
The lower cost resulted mainly from higher production and less than
expected operating costs. The increase in production was due to higher than
predicted grades from the Kodiak A orebody and greater than expected
recoveries from the ore. So far, 89.2 per cent of the gold has been
recovered from the ore stacked on the Fleece Bowl pad, up from 87 per cent
originally projected in the feasibility study. A further 3 per cent or
2,000 ounces are expected to be recovered from this pad next year. Gold
production in 1999 is expected to be 45,000 ounces.
A total of 623,000 tonnes of ore has been stacked on the Fleece Bowl pad
over two seasons. The Kodiak A deposit is now mined out, and next year
mining will begin at the Ursa deposit. The remaining 200,000 tonnes mined
from Kodiak A have been stockpiled and will be used to get an early start
on gold production from the Totem Creek pad when the 1999 production season
gets under way next June.
A two hole drill program on the Grizzly zone at Golden Bear did not
significantly add to the resource.
The feasibility study on the Bellavista gold project in Costa Rica was
advanced during the quarter, and is expected to be completed early in the
new year. The study is focusing on a portion of the open pit deposit which
contains an estimated mineable reserve of 9.6 million tonnes grading 1.66
grams gold per tonne. The estimated strip ratio is 1.28:1. A prefeasibility
study estimated that with a capital cost of $21.8-million (U.S.), the mine
could produce 51,500 ounces annually over a mine life of 7.5 years for a
total cash cost of $181 (U.S.) per ounce.
An underground drilling program was undertaken during the third quarter at
Bellavista with a target of adding underground reserves to the mine plan.
This drilling indicated a somewhat different geological package than was
previously thought to exist and therefore this zone will not be included in
the feasibility study. Further work will be conducted in the future.
HIGHLIGHTS
Nine months ended Sept. 30
(U.S. dollars)
1998 1997
Gold production
(ounces) 35,100 27,300
Total cash
costs (per
ounce) $149 $226
Sales (million) 15.2 14.3
Net earnings (million) 2.2 1.8
Earnings per
share 6 cents 5 cents
Cash flow from
operations (million) 6.5 (1.5)
Cash flow from
operations per
share 17 cents (4 cents) |
