MW : Central Rand Gold to unveil fund-raising plans in early 2010
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Junior gold-miner Central Rand Gold (CRG) was planning to raise additional funds, in the form of debt or equity, in 2010 to develop mines or additional targets, CEO Johan du Toit said on Tuesday.
Reporting on the company's 2009 interim results, Du Toit said that this was one of CRG's key deliverables over the next 12 months.
The JSE- and LSE- listed miner had initially planned to raise funding by the middle of this year to further develop its projects, but decided to scale down its development plan in light of the market turmoil.
Cash-in-hand, planned expenditure and revenue expectations now indicated that CRG would require further capital to develop its projects in the Witwatersrand region, from about the middle of 2010, the company said.
"Appropriate rates of development, the resultant cash flows and the required future funding are under current consideration with a view towards finalisation and communication in the early part of 2010," noted Du Toit.
The company would commence underground trial mining at its Consolidated Main Reef (CMR) tenement in early September, Du Toit said in a conference call.
The junior miner would use the knowledge it gains from trial mining to firm up and develop feasibility studies for additional mining targets in CRG's tenement areas, he added.
Meanwhile, the company would also focus on demonstrating that the mining methods as well as the metallurgical and economic assumptions for CMR used in the resources to reserves report compiled by independent mining consultants, Snowden Mining Consultants, were "robust and conservative", it said.
Du Toit said that the company would, in the second half of the year, focus on testing and proving that CRG's concepts were practical and workable and provided a platform for sustainable gold production.
"Essentially, the July to December 2009 period will serve as a vital test or pilot phase, which will determine the future direction of the company," commented Du Toit.
CRG had narrowed its loss in the six months ended June 30, 2009, to a loss of R14,6-million, compared with a net loss of R17,6-million recorded in the first half of the 2008 financial year.
