26th Jun 2015 08:31
LONDON (Alliance News) - Diamond miner Paragon Diamonds Ltd on Friday said its pretax loss pushed higher in 2014 due to an impairment charge, as the company moves towards production at its Africa-based projects.
Paragon, which does not yet produce any revenue and which operates in Lesotho, said its pretax loss for the year was GBP13.4 million, significantly wider than the GBP1.3 million it posted a year earlier, due to a GBP9.2 million cash impairment it booked as a result of divesting its interest in the Motete dyke project.
The group has spent the year focusing on the Lemphane kimberlite project in Lesotho, for which it secured a ten-year mining lease over the course of 2014. The company said independent modelling has indicated the project could offer similar high-value deposits, in line with the nearby Letseng mine run by fellow UK-listed diamond miner Gem Diamonds PLC.
Paragon also has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire the Mothae Kimberlite mine from Lucara Diamond Corp for USD8.5 million. It is targeting first production from both Lemphane and Mothae in 2015 and expects to produce revenue of USD36 million in the first 12 months of both being in production.
Paragon shares were down 1.8% to 5.4 pence on Friday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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