JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Following TSX- and Aim-listed Aureus Mining’s successful transition from gold developer to producer in 2015, the West Africa-focused group would now focus on delivering profitable gold ounces and finalise a debt repayment plan as it entered the new financial year.

The company was finalising an updated life-of-mine plan to allow for an agreement on a revised repayment schedule with its lenders, which included Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), Nedbank and the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa.

At December 31, 2015, Aureus held cash and cash equivalents of $7.1-million, its current liabilities exceeded its current assets by $11.1-million and around $12.4-million of debt repayments were due in 2016, explained Aureus president and CEO David Reading.

Updating the market on the group’s financial and operational performance for the year to December 2015, he said this had followed on the agreed deferment of the first $3.1-million repayment from the senior facility from the initial January 31 to April 4.

Aureus had, in 2013, entered into an $88-million project finance loan facility with the lenders and a subordinated $12-million loan facility with RMB, which was followed by a 2015 Tranche B senior facility of $10-million.

“These loan facilities, which have been fully drawn as at December 31, 2015, financed the development of the company’s New Liberty gold project.

“The directors believe there is a reasonable expectation that the rescheduling of debt repayments will be achieved; however, at this time there is no certainty that negotiations will be successful or that the company will be able to generate the necessary funds to pay the debt as it falls due,” stated Aureus.

During the year to December, Aureus raised equity of $28.1-million and had drawn $30-million of debt, with the company’s net current liability position a result of commissioning and ramp-up issues at New Liberty during the second half of 2015.

However, commercial production was declared on March 1 and Reading said the company now looked forward to delivering profitable ounces from the operation.

The group generated revenue of $19.2-million from gold sales of 17 172 oz capitalised as preproduction revenue during the year ended December 31.

The loss for the year widened significantly from $3.4-million in 2014 to $61.3-million in 2015.

The basic loss a share also increased from 0.01c last year to 0.17c in the year under review.

SP Angel analysts noted that Aureus was in a good position to benefit from a rising gold price, but warned that the company was not “out of the woods yet” in terms of rescheduling its debt. However, rising cash flow generation should enable the restructuring to proceed.