TIDMGDP
RNS Number : 1374L
Goldplat plc
28 April 2020
G ol dp lat plc / Ti cker: GDP / Index: AIM / Secto r: M in i ng
& E x p l o rati on
28 April 2020
Goldplat plc
( 'Goldplat', t he 'Group' or 'the Company ')
Quarterly Update - Update on the third quarter ended 31 March
2020
G ol dp lat pl c, the AIM li sted g o ld p r o ducer, w ith
internati onal g o ld reco very o perati ons l o cated in South Afr
i ca and Ghana and an underground m i ning operation in Ken ya, is
p leased to announce an operational update for the third quarter
ended 31 March 2020.
Goldplat Recovery (Pty) Limited ("GPL")
-- The South African operations maintained profitability and
achieved an operating profit for the third quarter ended 31 March
2020 of GBP843,000, increasing operating profit for the 9 month
ending 31 March 2020 to GBP3,444,000 (31 March 2019:
GBP1,544,000).
-- Following the directive issued by the South African
government in response to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, GPL was
placed on care on maintenance 5 days prior to quarter-end which
impacted production and reduced profitability for the quarter;
-- Lower grade contaminated material was processed through one
of the carbon-in-leach ('CIL') circuits in South Africa for more
than half of the third quarter. Although this resulted in lower
production and profitability, we were encouraged by the recoveries
achieved with further initiatives to optimize recoveries to
continue.
-- Production at GPL restarted at a reduced output on 20 April
2020 following the care and maintenance directive from the South
African government as a measure to reduce the impact and spread of
the Covid-19 pandemic.
-- GPL is subject to formula-based taxation in South Africa,
whereby reduced taxation rates apply in taxable income is low.
Based on the current and expected strong performance we believe GPL
will be taxed at an estimated rate of between 28 and 30%.
Gold Recovery Ghana Limited ("GRG")
-- The Ghanaian operation maintained its improved production
levels achieved during the first two quarters of the year and
achieved an operating profit for the third quarter of GBP210,000,
increasing operating profit to GBP358,000 for the 9 months ending
31 March 2020 (operating loss - 31 March 2019: GBP669,000 ) .
-- The Ghanaian operation was not required to close due to
Covid-19 pandemic. However, not all circuits could be operated at
full capacity towards the end of March and in April. Operations
should return to normal capacity during May we expect that GRG will
make up for most of the lost production during the last
quarter.
-- Apart from regular material supplied from mining companies in
Ghana, the Ghanaian operation is now also receiving regular
material from Mali and we remain optimistic of future deliveries
from other mines in Mali and the Ivory Coast.
-- With the increase in stability in supply of raw material to
GRG, although the sourcing risk remains high, focus can now shift
to improve processing rates, recoveries and margins.
Kilimapesa (Pty) Limited ("KILI")
-- The processing of tailings at Kilimapesa gold plant was
stopped from 27 March 2020 as a result of measures implemented by
Kenyan government in response to Covid-19. The mine and plant will
remain under care and maintenance.
-- Operating losses at Kilimapesa third quarter ended 31 March
2020 was GBP190,000, increasing loss for the 9 months ended 31
March 2020 to GBP485,000 (Operating loss 31 March 2020:
GBP1,142,000).
-- The current Covid-19 pandemic have stalled some discussions
with funding partners to re-capitalize this valuable exploration
and mining asset.
Anumso
-- We continue to seek a buyer for the Anumso gold project. The
initial discussions we had did not materialise and we have engaged
other parties that might be interested.
Group
-- The Group continues to benefit from the higher gold spot price.
-- The impact of improvement in plant operational efficiencies
and cost reduction continues, with some of these being invested
into analysis and testing to improve recoveries and increase
material availability for the future.
-- The cash and cash equivalents on hand at date of the
announcement was GBP 3,200,000. The Scipion loan balance is
GBP1,523,000 and in accordance with the terms of the facility we
plan to assess the impact of Covid-19 on future cashflows before
making any substantial repayment. The full balance remains payable
by end of November 2020, but we foresee deferring a part of the
balance for another 6 months in line with the revolving terms in
the agreement.
We remain committed to our strategy of increasing long term
visibility of earnings in the recovery businesses through key
initiatives and finding an investment partner or buyer for
Kilimapesa. We have made progress during the last quarter on all of
these key initiatives:
-- Improvement in gold recoveries from lower grade contaminated
material have been achieved with further initiatives to optimize to
continue. In line with this a further 18 to 24 months of material
have been secured, increasing visibility to more than 36 months in
South Africa.
-- We continue to build strategic partnerships within the mining
industry and with benefits from these already materialising.
-- The investment into larger t ailings storage facility ("TSF")
and additional mill and leaching capacity to enable us to reprocess
our current TSF have been evaluated. An application has been
submitted for a new tailings site, the outcome of which is expected
towards December 2020, not considering potential delays experienced
due to Covid-19.
-- Increased investment into sourcing initiatives and test work
on a wider range of materials, including PGM discards, continues
with some new, albeit small revenue streams already identified.
More feedback on these initiatives will be provided to the
market as outcomes becomes clearer.
Werner Klingenberg, CEO of Goldplat commented: "I am pleased to
report the progress made on key initiatives during the period,
while maintaining profitability. We will continue to use the strong
performance in the Group and higher gold price as a base to invest
into long-term security of supply to underpin visibility of
earnings. With all the recovery operations restarted as of 20 April
2020 the group should continue generating profits during the last
quarter.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world as we know it. While
we are pleased that our South African operation could restart on a
reduced basis, with plans to increase production to full capacity
shortly, the health and safety of our employees remain our highest
priority. Whilst in operation, in whichever jurisdiction, we will
continue to protect the business, employees, and the general
population by complying with heightened hygiene measures,
restrictions on site visits and travel in general, amongst others
during this challenging period the world is experiencing."
For further i n fo rmat i on v i s it www .g o ld p lat.com, f o
l l ow on Twitter @GoldPlatPlc or contact:
Werner Klingenberg Goldplat plc (CEO) Tel: +27 (0) 82 051
1071
C o l i n Aaro n s on / Richard Tonthat / Grant Thornton UK LLP
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100
Harrison Clarke/Seamus Fricker (Nominated Adviser)
James Jo yce / Jess ica Cave WH Ireland Limited Tel: +44 (0) 207
220 1666
(Broker)
Th e i n formati on co ntai ned w ith in t h is ann oun cement
is deemed to const itute in s ide i nf o rma t i on as st ipu lated
under the Market Abu se Regulati ons (EU) No. 5 9 6 / 2 0 1 4. Up
on the pub l ication of this ann o u ncement, this in s i de i n fo
rmati on is now c o n s i dered to be in the pub l ic domain.
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END
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