Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE:NYSE) released its fourth-quarter and year-end earnings numbers last Friday. The company hit its targets of 5 cents per share for the quarter and 15 cents for the year.
Updates are as follows:
 San Bartolome will begin producing at full plant capacity in the next few months
 The 5 new veins at Cerro Bayo will start producing much more as 2008 continues
 The Palmarejo mine in Mexico is still on track for a first-quarter 2009 startup.
The one thing new about the Kensington mine was that the mine has a six-month turnaround time to open.
That would give the company significant exposure to gold by the end of this year, which no one expected. Gold is close to $1,000 per ounce for the first time ever. In the past, CDE’s gold assets were considered too “high cost” to develop. But with prices so high and looking as if they will stay high, the value of CDE’s assets are being rerated by the market…and the fact that silver has broken the $20 per ounce level is not causing any pains, either.
News about Kensington is a huge boost to the potential of the company’s share price.
But Wall Street is in a bear mood so good news will be overlooked for awhile. Hang on for a big move in CDE later on.