Corona takes write-down on Nickel Plate project

The company has also declared it will pay its first dividend, 5 cents per share, to holders of common shares.

The earnings do not include contributions from the Williams mine at Hemlo which is the subject of a legal dispute between Corona and Lac Minerals. The Supreme Court of Canada has yet to hand down a decision.

Corona, created in 1988 through the amalgamation of five companies, decided last year to bring its fiscal year in line with the calendar year; previously, the company used a year-end of Sept 30.

After unusual and extraordinary items, the company reported a loss of $82 million for the 15-month period.

Corona last year revised ore reserves at its Nickel Plate gold mine in British Columbia; because of the revision, Corona has declared a write-down of $108 million.

The company says the new carrying value of its Nickel Plate investment, $51 million, represents the estimated depreciated cost of the capital assets built under the original feasibility study.

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