/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE
UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES/
Trading Symbol: ELR (TSX); EPS (JSE)
VANCOUVER, Nov. 14, 2018 /CNW/ - Eastern Platinum Limited
("Eastplats" or the "Company") is pleased to report
that it has filed its Q3-2018 condensed interim consolidated
financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for
the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018. Below is a summary of the
Company's financial results and highlights for Q3 2018 (all amounts
in USD, except as indicated in South African Rand
("ZAR")):
- cash inflow during the quarter of $0.5
million (ZAR 6.5 million) as a
construction loan from Union Goal Offshore Solution Limited
("Union Goal") in accordance with the UG Agreement (as
defined herein);
- cash and short-term investments of $7.5
million and working capital of $9.0
million as at September 30,
2018 available for completion of the Retreatment Project (as
defined herein) and other 2018 operations;
- capitalized and expended $15.7
million on the Chrome Circuit (as defined herein) and
related construction activities to further the Retreatment Project
(as defined herein) during Q3 2018;
- net loss of $3.0 million (loss of
$0.03 per share) compared with
$2.1 million (loss of $0.02 per share) in the same period of 2017;
however, the loss included a foreign exchange loss of $1.2 million in Q3 2018 compared to $0.6 million in the same period of 2017; and
- net operating cash flows used during the quarter was
$4.7 million compared with
$2.4 million used during the same
period of 2017.
Construction of the Retreatment Project
As previously disclosed, on March 1,
2018, the Company and its subsidiary Barplats Mines (Pty)
Limited ("Barplats") entered into a framework agreement (the
"UG Agreement") with Union Goal relating to construction,
remining and processing of the tailings resource and offtake of
chrome concentrate from Barplats' tailings facility (the
"Retreatment Project") located at the Company's Crocodile
River Mine in South Africa
("CRM"). During the quarter the Company continued to focus
its resources and efforts to complete the construction phase of the
Retreatment Project. The Company is now preparing for
commissioning, production and active operations. Commissioning is
estimated to begin shortly on the Retreatment Project. The Chrome
plant water commissioning is scheduled to begin during November 2018 followed by the introduction of
slurry into the Chrome plant. Ore production will ramp up during
the start-up period in December 2018.
The tailings infrastructure has been completed and is ready to
deliver slurry to the Chrome plant and separately to accept
tailings disposition as needed from the operations. As with all
commissioning and start-ups, many uncertain and unknown issues can
arise and the timing is uncertain. Eastplats anticipates the
Retreatment Project will result in revenue producing operations
through offtake of the chrome concentrates to Union Goal during Q4
2018.
The Company has spent $14,678 to
September 30, 2018 with an estimated
$3,853 remaining to complete the
Retreatment Project and bring it into revenue generating
operations.
Operating Highlights and Outlook
During 2018 the Company has focused on the construction of the
Retreatment Project and is now about to commission the project. The
Company and UG are focused to ensure the Retreatment Project is
brought into full operations as quickly as is reasonable. Other
projects have been placed on hold and all appropriate resources
have been authorized and allocated to achieve revenue-producing
operations as targeted in Q4 2018.
The Company has filed the following documents, all of which are
available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com:
- Transactional Agreements signed as part of the completion of
the condition's precedent under the UG Agreement;
- Condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the
three and nine months ended September 30,
2018; and
- Management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine
months ended September 30, 2018.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" or
"forward-looking information" (collectively referred to herein as
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of
applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, forecasts, estimates,
expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject
to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which
are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking
statements are statements that are not historical facts and are
generally, but not always, identified by the words "will", "plan",
"intends", "may", "will", "could", "expects", "anticipates" and
similar expressions. Further disclosure of the risks and
uncertainties facing the Company and other forward-looking
statements are discussed in the Company's Annual Information Form
and Management's Discussion and Analysis which are available under
the Company's profile on www.sedar.com.
In particular, this press release contains forward-looking
statements pertaining to: estimated timing of construction and
commissioning of the Retreatment Project, estimated timing of
operations and revenue generation of the Retreatment Project,
estimated capital requirements for the Retreatment Project and the
timing and completion of the Retreatment Project. These
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and
information currently available to the Company. Although
management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on
information currently available to it, they may prove to be
incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the
beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions
expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors
include, but are not limited to, commodity prices, economic
conditions, currency fluctuations, competition and regulations,
legal proceedings and risks related to operations in foreign
countries.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as
of the date they are given and, except as required by applicable
securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
No stock exchange, securities commission or other
regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information
contained herein.
SOURCE Eastern Platinum Limited