Low palladium grades at the Lac des les mine in Ontario contributed to a third-quarter loss for
The company reported a loss of $3.2 million (or 36 per share) on revenue of $12 million for the 3-month period, compared with income of $706,000 (5 per share) on $6.8 million in the corresponding quarter of 1998.
Losses in the first nine months of this year totalled $8.61 million ($1.01 per share) on $29.52 million, compared with $15.17 million ($1.60 per share) on $17.9 million a year ago. The difference in revenue is a function of palladium prices, and both 1999 periods include payment of substantial dividends in arrears on Series A shares.
The Lac des les mine — NAP’s sole producer — cranked out 15,602 oz. palladium, 1,178 oz. platinum, 1,270 oz. gold, plus 373,421 lbs. copper and 254,564 lbs. nickel during the recent quarter. A total of 419,192 tons of ore were mined, or 93% more than in the year-ago period, and 28% less waste was stripped. Palladium grades were 31% lower between the periods, as richer, deeper-lying grades had not yet been reached. Stripping ratios are expected to fall further as the pit deepens.
A second phase of drilling has doubled measured and indicated resources to 94.1 million tonnes averaging 1.66 grams palladium and 0.18 gram platinum per tonne, plus 0.14 gram gold, 0.062% copper and 0.053% nickel. The calculation is based on a palladium cutoff grade of 0.7 gram. The Roby zone has now been delineated by more than 93,000 metres of drilling. Mineralization stretches more than 1,000 metres along strike and to a depth of 500 metres.
A study is under way to determine the feasibility of expanding the operation to a daily milling rate of 15,000 tonnes. The mill currently treats about 2,700 tonnes daily, with concentrates shipped to Sudbury for further processing.
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