Costs lower at Lupin
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Feb 26/01) - Echo Bay Mines, the company that owns the Lupin gold mine in the Kitikmeot, reports a significant turnaround in annual profits.
For the year 2000, the company made $18.6 million US (all figures in US dollars) compared to a $37.3 million loss in 1999.
This is the first time in the past six fiscal years that Echo Bay has reported a profit. The five-year losing streak triggered a listing review by the American Stock Exchange. Echo Bay is supplying the exchange with reports and an exchange review is pending.
Helping drive the earnings up was a 21 per cent jump in revenues to $68.5 million from $56.5 million.
Lupin, recommissioned in April, added 117,729 ounces of gold production to the company's total gold pour of 694,663 ounces.
Total gold production rose 39 per cent across the company's group of operating mines.
"(Lupin's) grade and recoveries were as planned with lower than anticipated spending on equipment and labour costs," an Echo Bay spokesperson said.
Lupin's 2000 gold production carried a per ounce cash cost of $213, which included a $15 per ounce gain generated by the closing of some Canadian dollar contracts.
From restart to the end of the year, Lupin processed 508,000 tonnes of ore grading 0.248 ounces per ton.
For 2001, Lupin's target production is 150,000 ounces of gold at a cash cost of $240.
On Dec. 31, Lupin's proven and probable reserves were listed as 1.7 million tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.259 ounces per ton for 434,000 ounces of gold.
