Goldplat plc 4th Quarter Operating Results Update

RNS Number : 6868B

Goldplat plc

27 August 2024

 

Goldplat plc / Ticker: GDP / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration

27 August 2024

Goldplat plc

('Goldplat' or the 'Company')

4^th Quarter Operating Results update for period ended 30 June 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 4^th quarter ended 30 June 2024 ("Q4"), of the financial year just ended.

The two recovery operations achieved a combined operating profit for the quarter of £4,360,000 (excluding listing and head office costs and foreign exchange losses) which represents a 267% increase against Q4 in the previous period (Q4 2023 - £1,188,000).

During Q4 the two recovery operations achieved a combined profit before tax of £2,960,000 (Q4 2023 loss before tax - £589,000) after they incurred £410,000 in interest costs (Q4 2024 - £799,000) and £1,045,000 in foreign exchange losses (Q4 2024 - £764,000) which mainly related to trading activities.

Ghana experienced a strong Q4, achieving an operating profit of £3,740,000 (Q4 2023 - £438,000), driven by strong supplies in Ghana and South America.

South Africa's Q4 performance continue to be impacted by a reduction in supply from current mining operations. South Africa achieved an operating profit of £620,000 (Q4 2023 - £750,000).

As part of the year end process, we are reviewing the royalty's receivable on the sale of Kilimapesa for potential impairment. A tax accrual of GBP321,000 will also be raised relating to the tax liability in Kenya.

The following events have contributed to the reduced Q4 operating results:

Gold Recovery Ghana

·      In Q4, the combined gravity and flotation circuit continued to perform well and will assist in extracting value from large volumes of lower grade fine carbon material received in Ghana.

 

·      The supply of material from South America and Ghana has remained steady and we continue to have positive engagements with clients in South America and West Africa.

 

·      As per the announcement dated 17 June 2024, the focus and preference of the authorities in Ghana is on local beneficiation of concentrate. The transition in process for GRG will result in a reduction in debtors, increase of inventory value on site and additional working capital requirements until all processes are fully operational.

 

·      The recovery of gold dore bars from some of the concentrate received during the transition period is going slower than expected and we are in the process of reviewing and improving our recovery processes. We plan to invest in the order of GBP900,000 to upgrade our facilities in Tema based on proposal submitted to authorities. We are awaiting the final review and approval of the proposed investment from authorities.

 

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.

 

·      Continuous improvement initiatives to improve recoveries and strict cost control have been implemented to conserve cash in the short term.

 

·      During the quarter, total capital of £800,000 was spent on the generators which were financed through a local South African bank.

 

·      We estimate that we will require a further £500,000 to be spent on repairing and maintaining current operations and improving the environmental impacts of our current operations over the next 12 months. The Company anticipates that this will be funded from internally generated cashflow.

 

·      We continue to focus 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 800,000 metric tonnes of material have been added to the facility at grades of circa 1.45g/t (subject to confirmation).

 

·      The processing of the old TSF remains dependent on the approval of the water use license and third parties over certain areas for the installation of a pipeline to the DRD Gold processing facility.

 

Our cash balances in the group remained strong at £3,800,000 at the end of Q4. 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 increased working capital requirements in Ghana and capital requirements.

Werner Klingenberg, CEO of Goldplat commented: "I am very pleased with the strong operating results achieved by the group during Q4, specifically in Ghana. The major focus for the Group is on local beneficiation of material in Ghana, processing of our TSF, review of various cost elements and re-aligning our business in a declining gold market in South Africa."

 

For further information visit www.goldplat.com, follow on X @GoldPlatGDP or contact:

Werner Klingenberg	Goldplat plc (CEO)	Tel: [phone]
Colin Aaronson / Samantha Harrison / Ciara Donnelly	Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
James Bavister / Andrew de Andrade	Zeus Capital Limited (Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Tim Thompson / Mark Edwards / Fergus Mellon	Flagstaff Strategic and Investor Communications	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]

 

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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