Aur holds steady despite weak metals market

Earnings of Aur Resources (AUR-T) fell during the first quarter, but the company managed to post a profit despite slumping base metal prices.

Aur earned $400,000 (or 1 cents per share) on revenue of $21.4 million during the first three months of the year, compared with $3.6 million (5 cents per share) on $26.7 million in the corresponding period of 1997. The lower earnings are attributable to a drop in the average price of copper between the periods, to US77 cents from US$1.10 per lb.

Between January and March, the company’s attributable production stood at 16 million lbs. copper (an increase of 1 million lbs. from the first quarter of 1997), as well as 2.2 million lbs. zinc, 49,000 oz. silver and 2,000 oz.

gold.

First-quarter production at its 30%-owned Louvicourt mine in Val d’Or, Que., amounted to 26.7 million lbs. copper and 7.5 million lbs. zinc. Grades, however, were lower than anticipated as a result of change in the schedule for mining high-grade material. In the first quarter of 1997, the mine produced 25.8 million lbs. copper, 9.9 million lbs. zinc, 190,000 oz. silver and 5,900 oz. gold.

At its 70%-owned Andacollo mine in north-central Chile, the company produced 11.4 million lbs. cathode copper in the first three months of the year, up from 10.3 million lbs. in the corresponding period of 1997. The open-pit mine began production in the first quarter of 1997, achieving full capacity later in the year.