Princeton keeps head above water during second quarter

In the second quarter of 1996, Princeton Mining (PMC-T) posted a profit of $276,000, down from the $2 million the company earned for the same period in 1995.

Revenue was $18.8 million, up from $12.3 million for the quarter a year ago, while cash flow was down slightly, at just under $2.2 million.

Princeton operates the Similco open-pit copper mine in southern British Columbia. Three factors — a reduction in the price of copper, higher costs associated with full-scale mining, and the amortization of $1.9 million of Ingerbelle prestripping costs during the quarter account for the lower net income.

For the quarter, Similco produced 12 million lb. copper, 8,913 oz. gold and 26,266 oz. silver, bringing its total for the first six months of the year to 20.4 million lb. copper, 15,018 oz. gold and 44,091 oz. silver..

For the first half of 1996, Princeton reported a loss of $4 million on revenue of $31.3 million, compared with $4.1 million on $27.2 million in the initial half of 1995.

Princeton is operating Similco on a 2-year mining plan that ends December 1997. Mining operations in the Ingerbelle Phase I pit will continue to the end of November 1996. Minable reserves for the Phase II pit, at the beginning of the year, stood at 8.6 million tons grading 0.31% copper.

Mining grades in the second quarter averaged 0.33% copper, while the stripping ratio was 0.6-to-1, compared with 1.4-to-1 in the first quarter.

The 1997 mining plan is based on a copper price of US$1 per lb. and may change, depending on results of a summer drilling program on the Alabama and Oriole mineralized areas. The Alabama deposit is estimated to contain a resource of 29 million tons grading 0.352% copper and 0.005 oz. gold per ton, while the Oriole deposit hosts a minable reserve of 2.9 million tons grading 0.44% copper at a stripping ratio of 3.7-to-1.

With minable reserves on the Similco mine property totalling 151 million tons grading 0.392% copper, Princeton is working to address a long-range mining plan.