Amerigo posts US$1.63mn profit in Q2

Vancouver-based Amerigo Resources (TSX: ARG) reported net earnings of US$1.63mn and cash flow of US$3.7mn in the second-quarter of 2004 from its MVC operations in Chile. In July 2003, the company acquired MVC, which has a contract with state copper producer Codelco through 2021 to process tailings from its El Teniente mine in central Chile's Region V. Earnings were lower than US$3.78mn in the previous quarter partly due to delays in achieving increased production levels of 125,000t/d at El Teniente, the company said in a statement. Cash costs before the Codelco royalty were lower at US$0.59/lb in Q2 compared to US$0.64/lb the previous quarter thanks to higher production and sales of 3,325t of copper, the company said, without breaking down output figures. In the first six months of the year, Amerigo posted earnings of US$5.4mn and operating cash flow of US$5.87mn. The company did not provide production figures for the second quarter but said MVC produced 6,577t of copper in H1. Amerigo has started construction of a molybdenum processing plant to produce 318t/y of the metal which is forecast to be commissioned in the first half of 2005.