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Goldplat provides quarterly operational update

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Global Mining Review,


Goldplat plc, an AIM listed gold producer with international gold recovery operations located in South Africa and Ghana, has announced an operational update for the 9 months ended 31 March 2021 (9M21).

The recovery operations achieved a combined operating profit 9M21 of £4 220 000 (31 March 2020: £3 802 000) and a combined operating profit in the 3Q21 of £1 165 000 (3Q20: £1 053 000).

The Ghana operations continue to perform well as a result of steady supply of material and achieved an operating profit for 3Q20 of £687 000 (3Q20: £210 000). The South African operation achieved an operating profit for 3Q21 of £575 000 (3Q20: £843 000).

The following events have contributed to 3Q20’s operating results:

Ghana

  • There was continued good supply of material from regular clients during the period, which included two large batches from different clients.
  • The company’s engagement with mine management and government officials on different levels has continued, with the aim of increasing its footprint to ensure ongoing and regular supply. Historically, Ghana has benefitted from one-off stockpiled material on an ad-hoc basis, and although such opportunities still exist, its objective is to have a steady supply to the company’s plant in Tema from the by-products produced by clients from a larger geographical area.
  • It is still engaging with the relevant authorities in Ghana on recommencing the processing and tolling of tailings material.

South Africa

  • The decrease in operating profit against the prior 3Q20 was due to increases in the cost per tonne of material acquired for the low-grade circuit. Although initial gold recoveries from some of this material was high, the overall recoveries were lower than expected which impacted negatively on the overall profitability.
  • During 3Q21, the company increased the available tonnage of low-grade material by a further 4 months to 34 months, of which 10 months have been secured offsite. A decision has been made subsequent to quarter end to focus the sourcing team's efforts on higher margin material, if and where available.
  • The volume and the gold grade of the by-products received from its clients during the quarter was lower resulting in an 18% reduction in gold produced from by-products against same period of the previous year.
  • Operating profitability, y/y, continue to be impacted by higher electricity prices and increased water usage from the local municipality due to poor water quality from one of our other water sources.
  • The margins were further impacted by a 10% decrease in the gold price in South African Rand from the start of 3Q21.
  • The commissioning phase of the equipment installed to remove carbonaceous material pre-milling took longer than anticipated and the equipment has only been fully operational since May 2021.
  • Engagement with the authorities with regard to the new tailings storage facility (TSF) is encouraging and the company still expects to receive approval by July. Some of the pre-construction work has commenced and the new TSF should be completed at a cost of £700 000 before the end of the current calendar year.
  • The completion of the construction of the new TSF is a prerequisite for the reprocessing of the current TSF, the others being a decision on the processing facility and the final deposition site.
  • The company has identified what it believes to be the best available options for both the processing facility and the deposition site and it is in discussions to start the approval process with the relevant parties.

The cash and cash equivalents on hand on 15 May 2021 in the Group was £2.9 million and the loan balance outstanding was £740 000.

With the sale of Kilimapesa during 3Q21, it is continuing to review the current group structure and evaluating the options available to the company to distribute future value created in the recovery operations back to shareholders.

Mayflower Capital Investments Pty Ltd, Papillon Holdings plc and its advisors continue to engage with the FCA with respect to obtaining the final approval for the Prospectus and with its brokers in the UK and Germany to finalise the financing commitments from investors. As announced on 26 April 2021, in the event that Papillon is not readmitted to trading on the LSE by 16 July 2021, the full initial consideration of US$1.5 million will become payable in cash and will attract interest of 4% with effect from 1 January 2021.

Werner Klingenberg, CEO of Goldplat, commented: "I am pleased to report that with our two profitable recovery operations, in South Africa and Ghana, we are getting closer to our strategic initiatives of building long term visibility of earnings and being in a position to return value to shareholders through dividends."

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/17052021/goldplat-provides-quarterly-operational-update/

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African mining news Gold mining news