Peko sees much lower profit

Press, 29 April 1981, Page 23

Peko sees much lower profit

PA Sydney - Group profit for PekoWallsend, Ltd. will be substantially below the $46.6M profit in 1979-80 because of lower gold and copper prices and the cost of re-establish-ing Tennant Creek copper production, the directors said in the report for the first nine months of the year. They said that the Tennant Creek operations has failed to reach planned capacity of

■ 24,000 tonnes of blister copper a year on schedule, and this rate is not expected until June. Until then the operation will record operating losses at current metal prices, the directors said. Current output is running at a rate of 18,000 tonnes a year. Production was 11,867 tonnes of contained copper in the nine months to March 31, and 50.728 ounces of gold compared, with 5,345 tonnes of copper and 94,526 ounces of gold in the previous corresponding period. At the Mount Morgan and Mount Chalmers mines, gold production in the latest period increased to 15,335 ounces from 9,618 ounces and copper production rose to 2953 tonnes compared to 1418 tonnes in the March 1980 quarter. Peko’s King Island mine reported an increase in copper production to 14,820 tonnes from 6763 tonnes but gold production dropped to 66,063 ounces from 104,144 ounces previously. The directors said that ■ copper mineralisation at Parkes, New South Wales, and gold at Explorer 46, near Tennant Creek, is being developed and several other projects are encouraging. Construction at the Hanger uranium project, in which Peko has a 30.5 per cent interest, is continuing satisfactorily with a target of full production by October.