While stressing that the figures are preliminary and unaudited, Battle Mountain Gold Co. says it expects 1987 net income to be $48 million, or 73 cents per share. That’s up 78% from the $27 million, or 42 cents per share, earned during 1986.
Net sales for 1987, also unaudited, are expected to be $123 million, up 35% from $91 million in 1986.
Chairman Douglas Bourne says the gains came largely from improving gold prices and continuing high levels or operating efficiency.
The company expects to release fully audited year-end results near the end of January. Bourne also says that although delineation of the orebody is not complete, the infill drilling and evaluation program at its San Luis property in Colorado has caused the company to add an additional 270,000 of possible gold reserves to the existing 330,000 contained ounces of proven and probable reserves.
The company also is increasing its target annual production rate at San Luis to 50,000 oz from 25,000 oz beginning in 1989.
Bourne says the addition of these possible reserves to the company’s proven and probable reserves of about 2.4 million oz brings the company’s total base of contained gold reserves to about 2.7 million oz as of year-end 1987. This compares with 1.6 million oz of gold reserves at year-end 1986.
Battle Mountain expects to produce about 305,000 oz of gold in 1988, up 14% from 1987, and to produce at an annual rate of about 375,000 oz in 1989.
Aggregate average cash production costs are expected to remain low over the next two years.
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