Coeur d'Alene Mines' Kensington Alaska gold mine now a reality
By Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb.com
After battling all the way to the nation's highest court for the right to build a gold mine, Coeur d'Alene Mines Thursday commenced production at the Kensington Gold Mine in Alaska.
Coeur anticipates that Kensington will produce 50,000 ounces of gold during the remainder of this year and will average 125,000 ounces of gold annually over the mine's initial 12.5 year life. Production began ahead of schedule.
"Kensington represents Coeur's third new precious metals mine to commence production in the past three years and will provide continued, meaningful growth to the company's production and cash flow," said Dennis Wheeler, Coeur's CEO. "In addition, the startup of production at Kensington represents the culmination of a community-wide effort by the Juneau community, which has supported the project from the beginning and who will participate in the economic benefits Kensington will provide."
The gold concentrates produced at Kensington will be processed by China's largest gold producer China National Gold through an agreement that is the first of its kind between a state-owned corporation of the People's Republic of China and a U.S. precious metals mine.
Coeur Director of Corporate Communications Tony Ebersole said China National Gold has a "world-class facility and a huge presence." China National Gold is the largest gold producer in China and operates approximately 60 gold mines throughout the country, which comprise more than 20% of it's gold production. The company also owns and operates a number of smelters and refineries throughout China.
"We are delighted to enter into this major relationship with this globally important Chinese company," he stressed.
Ebersole noted that the "mechanism by which we convert our concentrate into revenue will be much faster than is typical. China Gold will be paying upfront, which means that in terms of timing, Coeur will get paid seven days after shipping vs. the typical two-three months that most concentrate producers must wait, while the metal is being processed at the smelter/refinery."
CXC Price at posting:
$18.51 Sentiment: ST Buy Disclosure: Held
