Delays in getting the new Knelson concentrators and cyclone recovery equipment online contributed to a quarterly loss for
During the three months ended June 30, the company incurred a net loss of US$1.3 million (or 3.1 per share), compared with year-ago earnings of US$129,300 (0.3 per share). Revenue between the two periods slipped by just less than $1 million, to US$3.7 million. During the quarter, operations ate up cash to the tune of US$129,396, compared with US$1.3 million a year earlier.
For the first half of 2002, the loss amounted to just short of US$1.8 million, compared with a profit of US$880,301 in the corresponding period of 2001. Revenue shrank to US$7.6 million from US$9.9 million. Cash flow was a meagre US$406,586, compared with US$2.9 million.
The company’s Bonte alluvial gold mine in Ghana produced 11,870 oz. during the quarter, down from the 17,512 oz. a year earlier. The 33% decrease in production is attributed to poor gold recovery and plant downtime resulting from the installation of concentrators and recovery equipment.
The company realized an average of US$313 for each ounce produced during the quarter, better than a year ago. Average mine cash costs came to US$266 per oz., US$100 an ounce more than in 2001, reflecting the lower production.
Despite the setbacks and delays, Akrokeri-Ashanti is confident the new recovery system will soon be fully commissioned.
The system is designed to address recovery problems associated with ore from the mine’s high-grade alluvial zones, which contains much finer gold grains than expected. The main sluice recovery system was not able to trap the grains.
At the end of June, the company’s accounts payable and accrued liabilities rose to US$4.8 million.
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