L and M lift, div.

Press, 27 January 1988, Page 33

L and M lift, div.

L and M Mining more than doubled its total profit from $2,317,659 to $5,821,000 in the six months ended December 31, and the company is paying an interim dividend.

However, the latest result included $2,138,000 from the reversal of deferred tax provision and $2.5 million from the sale of the industrial minerals division. If these are excluded the net profit is down 48.9 per cent compared with the previous corresponding period.

An interim dividend of 4c a share (8 per cent) has been declared (nil

previously), payable March 7. The final dividend paid last year was 6c a share. The directors said the Rimu project, near Hokitika, had started and it was expected that the project would be in production by the middle of this year. The capital cost was estimated to be $6.4M and production of 10,000 oz of gold was expected in the first full year’s trading, with a profit projection of about S4M in the first year. During the six months, L and M Mining had agreed to acquire all Mount Isa Mines’ gold in-

terests in New Zealand. These include large gold prospect areas on the West Coast of the South Island, the Mikonui joint venture being one of the interests. Since the sale of the industrial minerals division, the company had concentrated on gold exploration, development, and production. The company would continue to expand gold production in the next two years and was well funded, the directors said. Gold production fell 18.8 per cent to 60620 z, compared with the previous corresponding period.