Earnings season kicked off with Meridian Gold reporting a third-quarter net profit of US$7.9 million (or US8 per share), powered by a continued stellar performance by the El Peon high-grade underground gold mine in Chile, which produced 81,000 oz. at a cash operating cost of $60 per oz. Meridian has also enjoyed success at its Rossi project in Nevada, where one drill hole cut 15.5 metres grading 76 grams per tonne. The company rose 18 on the week to US$12.38.
Russian platinum miner Stillwater Mining ended in the red, posting a third-quarter loss of US$1.6 million (or US2 per share) on revenue of US$58.2 million. The miner was hurt both by lower production and lower combined prices for its platinum group metals output.
BHP Billiton weighed in with a 9.4% drop in quarterly profits to US$518 million (US8.3 per share), which the company attributes to “adverse movement in exchange rates.” The quarter was highlighted by record Western Australian iron-ore production and shipments.
The top-performing junior was New York-based Capital Gold, which jumped 5.5, to US28.5, on no news. In August, the company announced a positive feasibility study for its El Chanate low-grade gold deposit in Mexico’s Sonora state. The deposit hosts reserves of 358,000 oz. gold within 13 million tonnes grading 0.827 gram gold per tonne. The study envisages a US$13.8-million open-pit heap-leach mine capable of cranking out 50,000 oz. gold annually for five years at an operating cash cost of US$229 per oz. Capital Gold and its Mexican partner hope to begin mine construction early in 2004.
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