Aim-listed gold producer Goldplat reports that, for the financial year ended June 30, its recovery operations achieved a combined operating profit of £5.3-million, down from the £6.35-million profit reported for the 2020 financial year.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the financial year were £3.11-million, while a loan outstanding to Scipion was £33 000. The Scipion loan has subsequently been settled in full.
Goldplat notes that its Ghana-based operations continued to perform well, as a result of a steady supply of material.
Goldplat's engagement with mine management and Ghanaian government officials on different levels has continued, with the aim of increasing Goldplat’s footprint to ensure ongoing and regular supply.
CEO Werner Klingenberg says the regular supply into Ghana remains encouraging, and that even more encouraging is the increased engagement in neighbouring countries, creating the potential for future supply.
During the fourth quarter of the financial year, specific progress was made with respect to engagement with potential suppliers and government officials in Burkina Faso and Mali.
SOUTH AFRICAN OPERATIONS
In South Africa, Goldplat reports, a high amount of gravity concentrated gold produced during the fourth quarter of the financial year was not sold by the period-end, meaning that £1.1-million of unrealised profit in gold material was excluded from profits at the end of the quarter.
Nonetheless, the company notes that gold production during the fourth quarter was above the average of the past eight quarters, with production in its carbon-in-leach circuit contributing the most to this.
Although volumes and gold grades of by-product received during the quarter were lower than two to three years ago, Goldplat says they stabilised over the past 18 months, with the company expecting them to remain stable on the back of a three-year contract renewal with one of its major suppliers.
As for South African project operating profitability, Goldplat reports that, year-on-year, it continues to be negatively impacted on by higher electricity prices and increased water use from the local municipality as a result of poor water quality from one of the group’s other water sources.
In addition, Goldplat notes that it started to see the benefits of equipment installed to remove carbonaceous material pre-milling towards end of the financial year.
Based on successes in other circuits, the miner has decided to spend £75 000 to install gravity circuits in its largest milling circuits, to increase gold recoveries from the carbonaceous material. This will be commissioned during September.
In this regard, Klingenberg says he expects returns in the first quarter of the current financial year in South Africa to benefit from the sale of the stockpile of gravity concentrates at year-end.
Meanwhile, Goldplat also notes that South African authorities requested it to submit additional supporting information (in the case it is required) of an adjusted design for its tailings facility.
Goldplat estimates the resubmission and evaluation to take a further three months. “We continue to manage and extend the deposit of material within the group’s current facility with the help of consulting engineers,” the company notes in a statement.
Going forward, Goldplat has identified what it believes to be the best available options for both the processing facility and the deposition site, with the company stating it is in discussions to start the approval process with the relevant parties.