Cash costs rang in at US$117 per oz., an improvement over the US$192 per oz. achieved on production of 26,802 oz. a year earlier.
Production during the first six months of 2002 amounted to 86,791 oz. at US$144 apiece, up from the 61,297 oz. a year earlier at US$182 apiece.
Rio now expects to eclipse its revised 2002 production target of 160,000 oz. gold at less than US$150 per oz.
The second quarter’s record production, combined with a higher realized gold price of US$301 per oz. (up US$33 per oz. from the previous year), sent revenue soaring to US$18 million. On that revenue, Rio Narcea earned US$6.1 million (or 9 per share). A year earlier, the company suffered a second-quarter net loss of US$2 million (3 a share) on revenue of US$7.6 million. Similarly, cash flow from operations (after changes in working capital) climbed to just less than US$4 million from the year-earlier US$1.6 million.
For the 6-month period, earnings totalled US$4.2 million (6 per share) on revenue of US$25 million, compared with a loss of US$3.1 million (5 per share) on revenue of 17.4 million in the first half of 2001. Cash flow more than tripled to just less than $6.2 million.
Drilling continued with four rigs below the Boinas East pit. Forty-six holes, totalling 4,018 metres, were sunk in an effort to define four near-vertical zones of mineralization on 25-by-25-metre drillhole spacings.
At the quarter’s end, Rio tabled a positive bankable feasibility study of its advanced Aguablanca nickel-copper project in southern Spain. The company is in the midst of awarding engineering contracts and arranging project financing
The study envisages an open-pit operation producing 10,000 tonnes of nickel-in-concentrate annually from a resource of 28.4 million tonnes grading 0.67% nickel and 0.49% copper, plus platinum group elements. The bulk of the material is classified as measured and indicated.
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