Copper price slump lands Gibraltar in the red

Low copper prices took their toll on Gibraltar Mines (GBM-T) during the first half of the year.

The company reported a net loss of $340,000, compared with earnings of $2.3 million in the same period in 1995.

Copper prices averaged US$1.14 per lb. during the period, compared with US$1.32 in the first half of the previous year.

Gibraltar produced 31.6 million lb. of the red metal during the first six months of this year at a cash cost of US93 cents per lb., compared with 32.6 million lb. at US88 cents a year earlier. The increase in costs is due to lower mill throughput, itself a result of having to process harder ore.

The slump in copper prices also interfered with Gibraltar’s plan to finance the Lomas Bayas oxide copper project in Chile, where engineering work has been curtailed. Nevertheless, the company is continuing to hold talks with potential financers.

Gibraltar recently completed a drill program on the Fortuna de Cobre property, adjacent to Lomas Bayas. Results include: 548 metes of 0.55% copper (which includes 56 metres of 2.22% starting at 376 metres depth followed by 126 metres at 0.49% copper); 282 metres of 0.32% copper; 500 metres of 0.42% copper; and 494 metres of 0.33% copper.

The latest drilling boosted the overall geological resource at Fortuna to 322.4 million tonnes averaging 0.37% copper from 168.8 million tonnes of 0.37% copper reported in mid-September 1995. A cutoff grade of 0.2% was used for these calculations.