Kinross Gold Corporation KGC announced that mining and crushing operations at its Maricunga mine have resumed in early May, before the scheduled restarting target of June. The company temporarily suspended operations at the mine due to extreme weather conditions in Chile. The region experienced heavy rain that caused flooding and damaged infrastructure.
Kinross noted that the temporary suspension of operations will affect production and operating costs at the Maricunga mine, especially in the third quarter of 2015. However, as per the company, there will be no change in company-wide or regional production guidance.
Kinross recognized the efforts of its team for successfully restarting operations despite the challenging conditions. The ADR plant operated throughout the restart effort, producing gold from existing material in the heap leach. The company has installed an additional backup power plant to support the return to full operation. Main power lines are expected to be back in operation in September.
Kinross reported a net loss of $6.7 million (or a penny per share) for the first quarter of 2015, in contrast to net earnings of $31.8 million, (or 3 cents per share) in the year-ago quarter.
The loss in the reported quarter resulted from foreign exchange losses of $18.7 million, mainly related to deferred income taxes.
Adjusted (excluding one-time items) earnings were a penny per share in the first quarter as against adjusted earnings of 3 cents recorded in the year-ago quarter. The results came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of break-even results.
Revenues decreased roughly 4.4% year over year to $781.4 million in the reported quarter due to lower gold prices, partly offset by higher gold equivalent ounces sold. However, revenues came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $754 million.
Kinross currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked gold mining companies include Primero Mining Corp. PPP, Newmont Mining Corporation NEM and Richmont Mines Inc. RIC. While Primero Mining sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Newmont and Richmont Mines hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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