26th Jun 2019 12:12
(Alliance News) - Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd on Wednesday reported a narrowed annual loss in 2018 as the company's administrative expenses decreased.
In 2018, the Kyrgyz Republic and Armenian focused gold miner reported a pretax loss of USD17.0 million compared to USD18.1 million in 2017.
Chaarat's administrative expenses almost tripled to USD12.0 million from USD4.7 million in 2017. The miner's exploration expenses decreased 10% to USD1.7 million from USD1.9 million.
In 2017, the company booked a construction impairment of USD10.0 million, a charge that was not repeated in 2018.
As a result, Chaarat's total administrative expenses decreased 17% to USD13.7 million from USD16.6 million the year before.
"I am delighted with the progress we made in 2018, a year of transformation for Chaarat Gold. The company has executed a full-scale management turnaround and we now have a world-class, industrial team in place to execute on our strategy to create a leading emerging markets gold company," Executive Chair Martin Andersson said.
He continued: "Last year's exploration drilling programme added a further 650,000 ounces of gold in measured and indicated resource categories at a discovery cost of USD11.40 per ounce. We expect similar rates of success with this year's programme. Chaarat's successful acquisition of the Kapan mine in Armenia in early 2019 was also a critical moment, turning the company from a developer to a producer in a single step."
Andersson said this trajectory has continued in the first half of 2019.
"The joint venture with Ciftay represents a significant milestone for the funding of Tulkubash and clearly demonstrates the company's intrinsic value. Meanwhile, an almost 40% year-on-year increase in Tulkubash's gold reserves demonstrates the remarkable future growth potential of the project," he explained.
Shares in Chaarat Gold were 1.7% higher in London on Wednesday at 28.99 pence each.
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