Dickenson reports increase in 1992 gold production

Gold output in 1992 at Dickenson Mines (TSE) increased slightly to 111,872 oz. from 108,477 oz. in 1991. The company’s gold production comes from its 100%-owned Arthur White mine, near Red Lake, Ont., and its 36.2% interest in Wharf Resources (TSE).

The Red Lake mine produced 75,052 oz. of gold in 1992 at a cash cost of US$343 per oz., compared with 74,605 oz. in 1991 at a cash cost of US$347. In an attempt to further reduce costs, the company has revised its operating methods and implemented several additional cost control measures. In 1992, the company realized an average price of US$369 per oz.

Wharf’s gold production comes from its 100% owned Wharf mine and its 60% owned Golden Reward mine in South Dakota.

Output at the Wharf mine last year was 95,186 oz. gold, an all-time record, compared with 93,569 oz. in 1991. Continuing productivity improvements and a lower stripping ratio at the mine helped reduce the cash costs by 12% to US$183 per oz. in 1992. During 1992, the mine increased its annual mining rate by 12% to 3.7 million tons and expanded the capacity of the leach pads by 20% to 7.1 million tons.

For the period Oct. 8 to Dec. 31, 1992, the Golden Reward mine produced 10,890 oz. gold, of which 6,534 oz. was Wharf’s share. The cash production cost per oz. for this period was US$331.