Coeur gets nod for Kensington

Vancouver — Having secured final environmental permits, Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE-N) is building its Kensington gold mine in southeastern Alaska, 70 km north of Juneau.

Proven and probable reserves stand at 3.8 million tonnes grading 8.6 grams gold per tonne, or 1 million oz. of contained gold. The underground operation is expected to last 10 years and produce 100,000 oz. gold annually.

Construction costs are pegged at US$92 million; cash costs, at US$220 per oz.

Coeur d’Alene is the world’s largest producer of primary silver and operates mines in Argentina, Chile and in the U.S.

Construction is also under way on the San Bartolome mine, in Bolivia, which is expected to produce more than 8 million oz. silver annually, starting in 2006.

Company wide, Coeur cranked out 14.1 million oz. silver and 129,000 oz. gold in 2004.

The stock recently traded at US$3.60, and Coeur has a market capitalization of US$860 million.