TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Having reported strong results for its financial year ended July 31 and with a fully repaid debt facility and a stack of cash in the bank, Aim- and TSX-V-listed Rambler Metals is looking towards the 2015 fiscal year to take the company to the next level.
Rambler, which currently operates the Ming copper/gold mine, in Newfoundland and Labrador, reported net profit of $9-million, or $0.063 a share. This was flat when compared with the previous year, but resulted in more cash in hand with which to make investments.
Cash resources at the end of the period were $9.54-million, declining to $8.88-million on Friday, after the company on August 5 announced the third tranche of a private placement of common shares in Marathon Gold. Rambler now held a total of 2.74-million shares in Marathon, representing 3.64% of the issued and outstanding shares.
During fiscal 2014, Rambler invoiced 25 806 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of concentrate, significantly higher than the nine months of production recorded in 2013, after declaring commercial production on November 1, 2012.
The concentrate contained 6 968 t of copper, 6 043 oz of gold and 28 887 oz of silver. Rambler had in August reported that it met or exceeded the high-end of its output guidance by 9% for copper, 26% for gold and 35% for silver.
Rambler was now looking to the future, when the company would expand the current reserves by demonstrating the mineral potential of the lower footwall zone (LFZ) through a low-capital expansion programme.
"During 2015, our key objective will be to continue advancing the LFZ with the goal of moving a substantial amount of that resource into the mineral reserve. I am confident that the Ming copper/gold mine can continue to demonstrate itself as a long-term and profitable producer.
"Since the repayment of the Sprott credit facility in February, Rambler is now debt free and I believe we have set up a solid base for this company to continue growing into a midtier base and precious metals producer,” Rambler president and CEO Norman Williams said.
London-based analyst SP Angel in a note to clients said Rambler continued to perform well and was now generating cash that could be deployed to buy into other assets now the company was debt free. "A lack of reserves continues to hold back the share price and any move on that front could see a rerating in the shares," the analysts said.
Rambler had previously noted that it expected to produce similar volumes of metals in the coming financial year, specifically between 5 400 t and 6 700 t of metal, with increases forecast for gold and silver.