16th May 2014 13:24
LONDON (Alliance News) - Central Rand Gold Ltd Friday said it widened it losses in 2013, and reported a drop in revenues due to a drop in gold production.
The gold prospecting and mining company, operating in the Central Rand Gold field of South Africa, reported a pretax loss of USD13.3 million in 2013, compared with a loss of USD6.2 million in 2012.
The company's revenues fell to USD14.6 million for the year, from USD23.2 million in 2012, as a result of lower plant throughput, which it said was due to poor availability and lower surface grades. Internal gold production was down 25% to 7,675 ounces.
In 2012 the company's gold revenues were reported as "other income."
However, the company said its productions costs increased to USD16.3 million and it was hit by a USD1.8 million charge due to a loss to the fair value of its convertible loan note.
During the year, the group undertook a placing, subscription and open offer to raise up to GBP1.69 million, culminating in Redstone Capital investing a further GBP2.11 million by taking up its rights in terms of the share Option Agreement.
It used the additional funds for a major plant upgrade, including a new primary crusher and screen circuit, installation of a secondary crushing circuit which has a capacity in excess of 30,000 tonnes per month, and the acquisition of a new ball mill and leach tanks, have been procured to increase overall processing capacity beyond 25,000 tonnes per month.
"Mining capacity currently stands at around 25,000 tonnes per month. So it is evident that we are building surplus milling and crushing capacity to cater for future needs. This spare capacity will lessen the current pressure on the existing milling circuit, enabling more proactive and effective maintenance, thus ensuring improved uptime," the company said in a statement.
In a separate statement Friday, the group said that Michael McMahon is stepping down from the board as Chairman, and the company has appointed Nathan Taylor as interim chairman with immediate effect.
Central Rand Gold shares were down 16.5% at 11.90 pence Friday afternoon.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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