Battle Mountain pours first gold at Reona mine

The first gold has been poured at Battle Mountain Gold’s (NYSE) Reona mine in Nevada.

Production of 16,000 oz. is expected in the fourth quarter, and annual production (beginning in 1995) is projected at 70,000 oz., with the cash production cost pegged at US$212 per (equivalent) oz. for the life of the mine. The total operating cost is estimated at US$280 per (equivalent) oz. The Reona zone hosts 13.5 million tons averaging 0.028 oz. gold per ton, for a contained resource of about 370,000 oz. With a gold recovery of 70%, the mine is expected to yield 260,000 oz.

Start-up was a month behind schedule. The delay, combined with lower-than-expected gold production at the company’s mines in Bolivia and Australia, is expected to have reduced overall gold production by 14,000 oz. (to 128,000 oz.) for the recent third quarter. As a result, the company’s operating cost is now projected at US$198 per (equivalent) oz. — higher than initially expected, by about US$17.

Nevertheless, the company fully expects to be a 500,000-oz. producer in 1994, with an average cost ranging between US$185 and US$190 per (equivalent) oz. It also forecasts a 15% rise in gold production for 1995, with operating costs remaining relatively stable.