Small gold producer Richmont Mines (RIC-T) finished a profitable second quarter, earning $1.5 million (9 per share) on revenues of $15.5 million in the three months ended June 30.
The results did not measure up to the second quarter of 2002; then, bonus grades at both the Hammerdown and Beaufor gold mines gave the company a low-cost, high-production quarter, and Richmont earned $3.7 million from $20 million in revenues.
The Hammerdown mine near King’s Point, Nfld., produced 13,704 oz. gold in the quarter at an average cash cost of US$210 per oz. Ore grades during the quarter were near the reserve grade of 17.5 grams gold per tonne. In 2002, second-quarter production was 21,509 oz. at an average US$160.
Similarly, head grades at the Beaufor mine near Val d’Or, Que., were back to reserve levels near 7.2 grams gold per tonne. Beaufor produced 15,754 oz. in the quarter, down from 18,865 oz. the year before, and cash costs increased to US$225 per oz. from US$168 a year earlier.
The rise in the Canadian dollar’s exchange rate with the U.S. dollar also pushed up operating costs company-wide, which averaged US$219 per oz. in the quarter, compared with US$164 in the corresponding period last year.
Richmont subsidiary Louvem Mines (LOV-V), which owns half of the Beaufor mine, earned $1 million (4 per share) out of $4 million in revenues.
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