Coeur d’Alene gets EIS OK for Kensington

The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for the Kensington gold project in Alaska has been given the nod by the U.S Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Coeur d’Alene Mines (cde-n) says issuance of the permit by the U.S Forest Service — the lead agency in the permitting process — represents a milestone for Kensington. The company expects soon to receive the remaining key permits necessary for construction.

Once up and running after 18 months of construction, Kensington is expected to produce an average of 200,000 oz. gold annually for about 10 years. A mine optimization study is in progress.

On the financial front, Coeur produced 134,016 oz. gold in the first six months of this year from mines in the U.S., Chile, New Zealand and Australia.

This represents an increase of nearly 54% from the 89,462 oz. produced a year ago. Silver production totalled 5.2 million oz. — up 27% from the 4.1 million oz. produced in the first half of 1996.

The company reported a loss of US$2 million in the first half of 1997, compared with a loss of US$56.7 million a year earlier (which included a US$53-million writedown of the Golden Cross property in New Zealand).