Bullion River presses for profitability

Bullion River Gold Corp. may have lost $6.4 million in the second quarter, but the president of the Reno-based company is telling shareholders the losses won't be for long.

Peter M. Kuhn told investors last week that he expects the company's French Gulch mine near Redding, Calif., will be operating profitably within three to six months.

And as that happens, Kuhn said, he expects that the mine's earnings will be enough to move the company into the black and will provide capital for further exploration and development as well.

The French Gulch mine produced $922,633 in gold during the second quarter, boosting the total for the first half to $1.3 million.

The company's losses for the first six months of this year totaled $1.9 million. It had current assets of $1.16 million on June 30.

Kuhn noted that the second-quarter sales came despite a month-long shutdown of the mill that processes ore from the mine.

The company began ramping up mining operations in November. Chief Financial Officer Nancy Huber said the mine is likely to become profitable as it gets start-up costs behind it.

Kuhn said Bullion River Gold, like other producers large and small, struggles to find a qualified workforce.

He said the company currently could use five or 10 more miners to join the staff at French Gulch.

Along with the drive for profitability, Kuhn said the company's management team also hopes to win listing for its publicly traded stock on American Stock Exchange. He said the company has had some talks with the exchange about the requirements for listing.