Matt Miller, KTOO – Juneau
The rising price of silver was the main reason for record fourth quarter earnings announced Monday by Coeur d’Alene Mines.
But according to Senior Vice-President of Operations Leon Hardy, gold production at the Kensington mine north of Juneau also helped.
The company also had reduced overhead.
This is the first full year that all three of the company’s new anchor mines have been operating: Kensington, Palmarejo in Mexico, and San Bartolome in Bolivia.
Estimated company-wide production for this year is 20 million ounces of silver and 250,000 ounces of gold. Managers expect $800 million in sales – a 55-percent increase over last year – even with gold and silver trending slightly lower than current spot prices.
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