The past quarter was a positive one for newly diversified Mazarin Mining (MAZ-T), though earnings were not as high as in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 1996, the Quebec-based company earned $1.4 million (or 4 cents per share), compared with $1.9 million (7 cents per share) for the corresponding period in 1995. The results were affected by a decrease in Mazarin’s share in the net income of the limited partnership LAB & Co. Mazarin’s wholly owned subsidiary, Bell Asbestos, and 54.6%-owned Asbestos Corp. (AB-T) each hold a 20% interest in LAB & Co., which operates several asbestos mines at Thetford Mines, Que.
For the first nine months of this fiscal year, Mazarin earned $6.1 million (20 cents per share), compared with $4.4 million (15 cents per share) for the same period last year.
Until last year, asbestos was Mazarin’s only major business. But in December, 1996, the company began constructing a calcium aluminate plant in Thetford Mines. The plant will cost $6.5 million, employ 25 people and have an initial output capacity of 30,000 tonnes. The foundations and main pillars are now in place for the installation of the kiln. Commercial production is scheduled to commence this September.
Mazarin subsidiary Dolomex, which produces dolomite at Portage-du-Fort, Que., has begun producing two new products: roofing powder and granules. Total sales for Dolomex in the nine months ended Dec. 31 were $889,000.
On the exploration front, samples were collected in different areas of Mazarin’s exploration permits in Haiti, one-quarter of which yielded copper values exceeding 5% (the highest was 28%). Gold grades vary between 0.2 and 4.9 grams per tonne. Encouraged by these results, Mazarin has initiated a program of airborne magnetic surveys to identify drill targets.
Be the first to comment on "Mazarin quarterly earnings drop"