W.M.C. sales income should improve

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34047, 10 January 1976, Page 11

W.M.C. sales income should improve

(New Zealand Press Association —Copyright) MELBOURNE. The sales income of Western Mining Corporation, Ltd, in the six months to December 31, should be well above the sAust66.6m made in the corresponding period last year, but whether the group net profit improves on the $9.4m earned in the same period will depend on how the company contained costs.

Group output of nickel concentrates in the 28 weeks to December 30 rose 6 per cent to 24,323 tonnes. All of the increase was accounted for by W.M.C.’s halfshare of the Windarra output which increased from 818 tonnes to 3584 tonnes.

Apart from this higher output, W.M.C.’s sales income in the latest period would have been helped by an 8.6 per cent increase in nickel prices last January, as well as the 5.3 per cent devaluation of the Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar during 1975.

Including outside purchases, W.M.C.’s Kimbalda Mine produced 20,739 tonnes of nickel concentrate, compared with 22,134 tonnes in the same period of 1974.

In the four weeks to December 30, W.M.C. treated 129,007 tonnes of ore at Kambalda, compared with 98,604 tonnes in the previous period to December 2. The latest production included 10,037 tonnes (nil) of purchased ore.

Concentrate production totalled 29,753 tonnes, assaying 12 per cent nickel and 1 per cent copper. Concentrates produced in the previous period totalled 21,059 tonnes of ore assayed the same percentages. The Windarra nickel project produced 9830 tonnes (7849 tonnes) of concentrates assaying 11.2 per cent (10.7 per cent) nickel. Gold price slumps Gold slumped on the London Bullion Exchange on Thursday. At the afternoon fix the metal was set at $U5135.80 — SUSI.BS down on the morning’s fix and $U52.55 on Wednesday afternoon’s set price. Dealers said that a statement by the British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Dennis Healey) expressing hopes that the I.M.F. would begin selling gold next month if agreement was reached on reform measures, depressed the market.—London.