Fairfield chalks up firm earnings

The Siwash gold mine in southern British Columbia continues to pump out profits for Fairfield Minerals (TSE).

In 1994, the open pit yielded 27,000 oz., which was augmented by a further 3,000 oz. from underground exploration. The company ships ore directly to smelters, having last year sold 23,900 oz. at an average price of US$380 per oz. A further stockpile of 4,300 tons, containing about 12,000 oz., remains on site.

For the year ended Jan. 31, 1995, Fairfield earned (after taxes) $3 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $1.6 million in the previous year. Working capital stands at $5 million, which does not include the 12,000 oz. gold contained in the stockpile.

The debt-free company is moving into an exploration-and-development phase on the property this year and, therefore, does not anticipate the same level of production as last year.

April will see the start of 12,000 ft. of underground drilling to upgrade the resource in the Mother shoot. This structure represents the downdip extent of what was being mined by open-pit methods, and contains a drill-indicated resource of 180,000 oz. based on an average grade of 1 oz. per ton. The underground work will be followed by surface drilling on surrounding targets.

Pending positive results from underground, Fairfield plans to drift and raise on the Mother shoot in order to block out reserves for future mining. The company, which has just over 7 million shares outstanding, plans to spend $3.5 million on this year’s programs.