Photo by: Reuters
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The TSX-listed stock of miner Veris Gold would be delisted on July 18, the company said on Thursday.
The Vancouver-based miner, whose flagship project comprises the long-lived gold-mining operations at Jerritt Canyon, in Nevada, last week filed for creditor protection in Canada and the US, which made it noncompliant with the exchange’s continued listing requirements.
The TSX had suspended the company’s stock from trading last Monday and it would remain suspended until its delisting.
Veris revealed that it had started discussions with other recognised stock exchanges to transfer its securities before delisting, but said it could not guarantee a successful alternative listing.
Should the company re-emerge from the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) restructuring, it intends to reapply for a TSX listing.
Veris confirmed that it was currently focused on the restructuring and refinancing of its outstanding debts. The three mines at Jerritt Canyon, as well as the processing facility, were currently operating and generating free cash flow, the company said.
Professional services firm EY was serving as the court-appointed monitor in the CCAA proceedings to oversee the operations of the company and report to the court during the restructuring.
Veris last week sought creditor protection to address near-term liquidity issues owing to a decreasing gold price, higher than expected production costs, demands for payment under existing loan agreements and unexpected shutdowns, including the January shutdown resulting from a December fire.
The TSX-listed stock of the North American miner lost more than half its value in January, when the miner first revealed that it had defaulted on the two forward gold purchase contracts with Deutsche Bank (DB) London Branch, which had subsequently declared payment defaults. The midtier company said it had failed to make the monthly December gold delivery, or pay the cash equivalent, of the gold delivery shortfall.
This was the result of an electrical accident, resulting in a fire that occurred in the primary crushing building at the Jerritt Canyon mill operations. The fire resulted in a temporary suspension of operations, which negatively affected output during December.
Veris said the forward gold purchase contracts with DB London Branch did not contain a force majeure provision that would have allowed Veris to temporarily suspend its obligations under the contracts, owing to circumstances beyond its control.