Decreased production and lower realized gold prices led Geomaque Explorations (GEO-T) to post a loss of US$1.1 million (or 2 per share) for the three months ended March 31.
In the same period of 2000, the company earned US$402,000 (1 per share). Revenue between the two periods fell to US$2 million from US$5.4 million. Cash provided by operations during the recent quarter grew to US$1.1 million from US$267,000, thanks to the realization of the value of gold-in-process at the San Francisco mine in Mexico.
Geomaque’s first-quarter gold production tallied 9,333 oz. Cash costs rang in at US$311 per oz., up from US$224 per oz. a year earlier. The bulk of production came from the San Francisco mine, which churned out 7,540 oz. The mine has been running in leach-only mode since November 2000. Leaching of ore is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Geomaque realized a price of US$268 per oz. for the mine’s production. A year earlier, the mine produced 17,012 oz., which sold for an average of US$320 per oz.
Construction at the Vueltas del Rio mine in Honduras was completed Feb. 28. At the end of March, the mine was in pre-production. The mine poured its first gold March 9 and by the end of March it had produced 1,793 oz. Vueltas is expected to produce about 60,000 oz. annually at a projected cash cost of US$170 per oz. Commercial production has yet to be achieved.
During the first quarter, the company spent US$347,000 at the Marathon palladium project in Ontario. Work included a 3,000-metre exploration and infill drill program and a preliminary economic assessment of the project. The assessment envisages production of 949,000 oz. palladium, 267 million lbs. copper, 215,000 oz. platinum, 146,000 oz gold and 1.7 million oz. silver over a 15-year mine life. The average operating cost per ounce of palladium is projected at US$237, after byproduct credits.
An exploration program, including trenching and geophysics, is scheduled to begin at Marathon in June. In August, the company plans to drill on geophysical targets and infill drill to better delineate the higher-grade portion of the deposit. Additional metallurgical work will also be completed.
At March 31, Geomaque’s cash position was US$900,000, down from US$2 million at the end of 2000.
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