Goldplat plc / Ticker: GDP / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining &
Exploration
13
May 2024
Goldplat
plc
('Goldplat' or the
'Company')
3rd Quarter
Operating Results update for period ended 31 March
2024
Goldplat Plc, (AIM:GDP) the AIM
listed Mining Services Group, with international gold recovery
operations located in South Africa and Ghana, servicing the African
and South American Mining Industry, is pleased to announce an
operational update for the 3rd quarter ended 31 March
2024 ("Q3"), of the current financial year.
The two recovery operations achieved
a combined operating profit for the quarter of £1,618,000
(excluding listing and head office costs and foreign exchange
losses) which represents a 10% increase against Q3 in the previous
period (Q3 2023 - £1,470,000).
During Q3 the two recovery
operations achieved a combined profit before tax of £890,000 (Q3
2023 - £1,735,000) after they incurred £430,000 in interest costs
(Q3 2023 - £74,000) and £350,000 in foreign exchange losses (Q3
2023 - foreign exchange gain £292,000) which mainly related to
trading activities.
Ghana experienced an exceptional Q3,
achieving an operating profit of £1,499,000 (Q3 2023 - £295,000),
driven by strong supplies in Ghana and South America.
South Africa's Q3 performance
continues to be impacted by a reduction in supply from current
mining operations and to a lesser extent, by electricity cuts.
South Africa achieved an operating profit of £119,000 (Q3 2023 -
£1,175,000).
The combined operating profit for
the operating entities for 9 months ended 31 March 2024 increased
by 4% to £5,030,000 compared with the previous period (9 months
ended 2023 - £4,840,000).
The following events have
contributed to the Q3 operating results:
Gold Recovery Ghana ("GRG")
· During
Q3 GRG performed significantly better than previous quarters. As
indicated above, Ghana received the benefit during Q3 from good
supply of material during H1, with consignments treated from Ghana,
Côte d'Ivoire and South America.
· In Q3
we started producing gold from the lower grade milling, gravity and
flotation circuit which will assist in extracting value from large
volumes of lower grade fine carbon material received in
Ghana.
· Some
of the West African countries still have an embargo on the export
of gold concentrates not in a dore or bullion form.
Goldplat Recovery (Pty) Ltd
· We
continue to see a reduction in by-products received from current
mining operations due to changes in their production profile. The
focus therefore remains to increase our by-product market share in
South Africa and to gain access to neighbouring
countries.
· The
impact of electricity cuts and infrastructure related issues
continues to reduce with only 6% of the total days available in the
quarter lost, compared with the circa 7% in Q2 2024 and 23% lost in
the 3 quarters before that. The generator
project was implemented and commissioned by the end of April and
fully ready to mitigate any power interruptions in the
future.
· With
lower recoveries from low grade soils (referring to gravity
concentrates), reduction in by-products received and increases in
cost, the various cost elements in South Africa will be reviewed
and revised in the short term to conserve cash.
· During
the quarter, total capital of £490,000 was spent on the TSF,
generators and other equipment. The acquisition of the generators
to the value of £750,000 will be capitalised in Q4.
· We
estimate that we will require a further £450,000 to be spent on
repairing and maintaining current operations and improving the
environmental impacts of our current operations. The Company
anticipates that this will be funded from internally generated
cashflow.
· With
the new TSF having been commissioned, we are focussing on the work
required to begin the processing of our old TSF which has a JORC
Resource (January 2016) of 81,959 ounces in 1.43m metric tonnes
(Table 1), at a DRD Gold processing facility. Since the completion
of the JORC resource, circa 800,000t of material has been added to
the facility at grades of circa 1.45g/t (subject to confirmation).
We plan to update the JORC resource as the remaining requirements
for processing of the old TSF becomes clear and will make further
announcements in due course.
· The
processing of the old TSF remains dependent on:
o The
approval of the water use license over certain areas for the
installation of a pipeline to the DRD Gold processing
facility;
o The
application process was subject to completion of engineering
designs which were finalised in December 2023. However, areas were
identified where the pipeline route will require to be changed from
the current servitude. These changes have resulted in changes to
the timelines. We will keep the market updated once we have clarity
of what the new timelines will be;
These changes may affect the way we
process the TSF and the returns we expect to generate. DRD Gold and
Goldplat Recovery are currently in the process of evaluating the
different variables that will impact the processing of the TSF as
well as the commercial impact thereof. This process will remain
subject, inter alia, to the finalisation of the water use
license.
Cash balances and availability
Our cash balances in the group
increased from Q2, with increased sales in Ghana, and remains
strong at GBP2,430,000 (GBP1,707,000 Q2 2024). The cash balances
will mainly be used to reduce the requirement for trade finance in
the medium-term, repayment of intercompany loan balances, repayment
of debt and normal working capital and capital requirements.
Werner Klingenberg, CEO of Goldplat commented:
"The Group continues to benefit from engagements
and marketing efforts over the last five years and we aim to build
on the momentum into West Africa and South America, although the
regulations governing the export of gold bearing by-products out of
certain regions remain a challenge.
The requirements and approval of the
water use license for installation of pipeline to DRD Gold remain a
major focus for the Group, whilst we continue to strengthen our
relationships, review various cost elements, and increase market
share in a declining gold market in South Africa."
For further information visit
www.goldplat.com, follow on Twitter @GoldPlatGDP or
contact:
Werner Klingenberg
|
Goldplat plc
(CEO)
|
Tel: +27 (0) 82 051 1071
|
Colin Aaronson / Samantha
Harrison
|
Grant Thornton UK LLP
(Nominated Adviser)
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100
|
James Bavister / Andrew de Andrade
|
WH Ireland Limited
(Broker)
|
Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666
|
Tim Thompson / Mark Edwards /
Fergus Mellon
|
Flagstaff Strategic and Investor
Communications
|
Tel: +44 (0) 207 129 1474
goldplat@flagstaffcomms.com
|
Table 1
Mineral Resource Estimate of the
TSF, South Africa:
Total
Resource
|
Domain
|
Class
|
Tonnes (Mil)
|
Density
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (Oz)
|
U3O8 (g/t)
|
U3O8 (lbs)
|
Ag (g/t)
|
Ag (Oz)
|
TOTAL RESOURCE
|
Measured
|
0.87
|
1.32
|
1.82
|
50,907
|
61.41
|
117,754
|
4.85
|
135,573
|
Indicated
|
0.49
|
1.37
|
1.77
|
27,897
|
59.73
|
64,506
|
4.71
|
74,165
|
Inferred
|
0.07
|
1.30
|
1.4
|
3,154
|
71.40
|
11,016
|
2.82
|
6,356
|
Grand Total
|
1.43
|
1.34
|
1.78
|
81,959
|
61.32
|
193,276
|
4.70
|
216,094
|
100%
attributable to the Company.
The Tailings Mineral Resource
Estimate was announced in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) in a
press release on 29 January 2016. Mark Austin of Applied Geology
& Mining (Pty) Ltd was the Competent Person responsible for
that announcement. The Company confirms that all material
assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Resource
Estimate continue to apply and have not materially changed, and it
is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects
the estimates.
The information contained within this
announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as
stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The
information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's
obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of
this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be
in the public domain.