New mines will help boost Cambior gold production

Cambior’s newest operating project is the Pierre Beauchemin mine near Rouyn-Noranda, Que., which entered commercial production in January of this year. Mine output for 1989 is estimated to be 35,000 oz.

The company reports plans to expand the number of stopes, thereby increasing the production rate at the mine. Also, further exploration of the property is in the works.

Scheduled to enter commercial production in September of this year is the Pascalis project 15 miles east of Val d’Or, Que. Cambior projects output of 12,000 oz for 1989 from the project and annual production of 35,000 oz.

Facing production decisions in the near future are two more projects in the Rouyn-Noranda area, the Mouska, in which Cambior has a 100% interest, and the Silidor, in which Cambior has a 25% interest.

Also adding to the company’s gold total will be output from the Chimo mine of Louvem Mines at Val d’Or. Cambior recently concluded a deal with Louvem to acquire a 50% interest in the mine, which has undergone development work and had its shaft deepened. Main mine

Cambior’s main source of gold production is the underground Doyon mine east of Rouyn- Noranda; Cambior and LAC Minerals (TSE) each have a 50% interest. Mine output in 1988 totalled 278,314 oz. Formerly an open pit operation, Doyon is expected to produce about 220,000 oz in 1989 with the closing down of the pits this year.

The company’s only producing project outside of Quebec is the Valdez Creek placer operation in Alaska, which turned out a total of 44,470 oz in 19 88. Cambior has about a 26% interest in the project.

On the exploration side, Cambior in 1988 spent about $10.9 million and its partners another $4.8 million in search of gold deposits in Canada and the United States.

No new economic deposits were outlined in 1988, the company reports, but gold-bearing structures were identified on the Doyon and Mouska properties, on the Flavrian property near the Pierre Beauchemin mine, and on the Gold Cliff property southeast of Sacramento, Calif.

The company has a 50% interest in the Gold Cliff project, where diluted reserves are estimated to be about 2.1 million tons grading 0.067 oz gold per ton. More drilling is under way on the property, for which an open pit operation is envisaged.

Also in the U.S., Cambior is earning a 50% interest in three gold properties in Virginia. And, the company has opened an exploration office in Reno, Nev.

Cambior reported net earnings for 1988 of $17.4 million on revenue of $109.8 million, compared with $21.9 million on revenue of $93.8 million the year before. The company took a loss of about $1.1 million from the sale last year of its 34% interest in the A. W. White mine in northwestern Ontario and from investments in junior Goldquest Exploration, which is active in the same area.

Net earnings for the first quarter of this year increased by 32%, to about $4.8 million from about $3.6 million the year before, the company says. Revenue for the quarter was $25.8 million compared with $26.7 million for the same period last year. Gold production totalled 37,986 oz compared with 42,986 oz for the same quarter in 1988.

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