11th Sep 2020 11:38
(Alliance News) - Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd on Friday posted a widened loss for the first half of 2020 as it provided an update on its Kapan, Tulkubash and Kyzyltash projects.
Shares in the gold miner focused on Armenia and Kyrgyz Republic were trading 7.9% lower at 36.24 pence each on Friday morning in London.
For the six months ended June 30, Chaarat posted a pretax loss of USD13.2 million, widened from USD12.4 million loss a year ago. This was as revenue fell 3.5% year-on-year to USD29.9 million from USD31.0 million and administrative expenses rose to USD9.7 million from USD9.1 million.
Gold production during the period was 26,960 ounces, 9% lower year-on-year, as grades were impacted by mining in lower grade areas.
"We continue to make progress towards achieving our goal of becoming a leading emerging markets gold company with a focus on Central Asia and the Former Soviet Union. Kapan had a better first half compared to last year, despite June shipment delays, as a result of the optimisation initiatives we have implemented since we acquired this operation," said Chief Executive Artem Volynets.
Looking ahead, Chaarat said first gold pour at its Tulkubash project in Kyrgyzstan has been moved to the fourth quarter of 2022 from the end of 2021 due to people and equipment restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
It added it is on track to deliver its full-year production guidance for its Kapan gold mine in Armenia, noting that the run of mine grades at the project have improved over the last two months. Kapan is expected to deliver 55,000 gold equivalent ounces in the year as grades at the mine improved in July and August and are now expected to be above levels seen in the first half for the rest of the year.
The company said the improved grades were the result of targeted development work carried out in the year to date which focused on identifying higher grade ore blocks that require minimal development.
Cash held as at June end was USD5.9 million.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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