/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE
UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES/
Trading Symbol: ELR (TSX); EPS (JSE)
VANCOUVER, Nov. 8, 2019 /CNW/ - Eastern Platinum Limited
("Eastplats" or the "Company") is pleased to report
that it has filed its Q3 2019 condensed interim consolidated
financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for
the three and nine months ended September
30, 2019. Below is a summary of the Company's financial
results for Q3 2019 (all amounts in USD, except as indicated in
South African Rand ("ZAR")):
- Revenue from the Retreatment Project (defined below) for
three and nine months ended September 30,
2019 was $11.3 million and
$27.1 million respectively;
- Operating loss (three-month period) decreased to $0.8 million in Q3 2019 compared to $2.4 million in Q3 2018;
- Positive working capital (excluding non-cash deferred revenue)
of $8.4 million as at September 30, 2019; and
- Net loss to shareholders decreased to $4.3 million (loss of $0.03 per share) for the nine months ended
September 30, 2019 versus a loss of
$8.4 million (loss of $0.07 per share) for the nine months ended
September 30, 2018. The improvement
is primarily attributable to the revenue generated by the
Retreatment Project.
Operations of the Retreatment Project
As previously disclosed, on March 1,
2018, the Company entered into an agreement (the
"Framework Agreement") with Union Goal Offshore Solution
Limited ("Union Goal") relating to the construction,
re-mining and processing of the tailing resource and offtake of
chrome concentrate from Barplats Mines (Pty) Limited tailings
facility (the "Retreatment Project") located at the
Company's Crocodile River Mine in South
Africa ("CRM").
Operations began in December 2018
and the Retreatment Project has achieved over 89% of capacity
during Q3 2019.
A summary of production during the initial operation to the end
of September 2019:
Average grade Cr
concentrate
|
Tons of Cr
concentrate
|
38.54
|
375,222
|
The Company began in April 2019
the evaluation and testing of a PGM recovery circuit in relation to
the tailings resource and this testing continues in an effort to
generate additional revenue. The Company has multiple alternatives
and is seeking the best possible path forward regarding the
recovery of PGM's. Samples and testing from the new operating
chrome plant will allow for the most accurate assessment. The
Company targets a decision in this regard during Q4
2019.
Sale Maroelabult resource property
On October 24, 2019 the Company
and its subsidiary Barplats entered into a sales agreement (the
"Sale Agreement") with Eland Platinum (Pty) Limited
("Eland") (See News release of October 29, 2019). The Sales Agreement
provides for sale of the mining rights, immovable property,
infrastructure and equipment for consideration to be received of
$1,367 (ZAR
20,000), the assumption of the rehabilitation obligation and
immediate assumption of the care and maintenance costs.
Outlook
The Company is completing an optimization review of the
Retreatment Project and the recommendations are expected to be
available for review by management shortly. The Company believes
that it will make a definitive decision with respect to PGM
recovery during Q4 2019.
The Company's targets for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020
include:
- Complete optimization work of the Retreatment Project;
- Retreatment Project ramp-up to full production;
- Assessment and decision regarding the PGM recoverability
opportunities in relation to the tailings resource;
- Assessment and decision regarding Mareesburg project; and
- Assessment and discussions regarding the CRM Zandfontein
underground operations.
The Company is actively looking at opportunities for its other
assets and exploring options to utilize or monetize these
assets.
The Company has filed the following documents, under the
Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com:
- Condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the
three and nine months ended September 30,
2019; and
- Management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine
months ended September 30, 2019.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" or
"forward-looking information" (collectively referred to herein as
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of
applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, forecasts, estimates,
expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject
to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which
are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking
statements are statements that are not historical facts and are
generally, but not always, identified by the words "will", "plan",
"intends", "may", "will", "could", "expects", "anticipates" and
similar expressions. Further disclosure of the risks and
uncertainties facing the Company and other forward-looking
statements are discussed in the Company's most recent Annual
Information Form available under the Company's profile on
www.sedar.com.
In particular, this press release contains forward-looking
statements pertaining to: forecast of operational activity of the
Retreatment Project and the Company's ability to achieve
full-operational capacity at the Retreatment Project or at all;
forecasted cashflows of the Retreatment Project; the Company's
ability to test and assess PGM recovery opportunities in connection
with the Retreatment Project; or the Company's ability to assess
and make decisions with respect to its other assets. These
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and
information currently available to the Company. Although
management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on
information currently available to it, they may prove to be
incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the
beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions
expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors
include, but are not limited to, unanticipated problems that may
arise in our production processes, commodity prices, lower than
expected grades and quantities of resources, need for additional
funding and availability of such additional funding on acceptable
terms, economic conditions, currency fluctuations, competition and
regulations, legal proceedings and risks related to operations in
foreign countries.
All forward-looking statements in this press release are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement,
the "Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information"
section contained in the Company's most recent Management's
Discussion and Analysis available under the Company's profile on
www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements in this press
release are made as of the date they are given and, except as
required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any
intention or obligation, and does not undertake, to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
No stock exchange, securities commission or other
regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information
contained herein.
SOURCE Eastern Platinum Limited