REG - Goldplat plc - Update: Management Team, Licensing and Electricity

GoldplatAnnouncement

31/05/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 0667B  Goldplat plc  31 May 2023

Goldplat plc / Ticker: GDP / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration

31 May 2023

Goldplat plc

('Goldplat' or the 'Company')

Update on senior management team, licensing and electricity

Goldplat Plc, (AIM: GDP) the AIM listed Mining Services Group, with
international gold recovery operations located in South Africa and Ghana,
servicing the African and South American Mining Industry, is pleased to
provide an update on the strengthening of the Group management team, the
finalisation of the renewal of Gold Recovery Ghana ("GRG") gold license and
the electricity supply in South Africa.

 

During May, the Group appointed a Chief Operating Officer, Douglas Davidson,
to focus specifically on improving and strengthening current operations.
Douglas is a Metallurgical Engineer with 26 years of experience in the mining
industry of which 23 years have been in the diamond industry, mainly in
Namibia and Lesotho. Douglas Davidson has extensive operational experience
built up in operating large plants for De Beers, Namdeb and Namakwa Diamonds.
He has held various senior positions including Group Metallurgical Lead and
Mine Manager at these companies as well as serving on the Executive Committee
at Namdeb. He has led multi-disciplinary operational teams to identify,
develop and implement value accretive and risk mitigating initiatives to
improve overall business performance.

In Ghana, the renewal of GRG's gold license has been finalised and the export
of product has started, but we expect that most of this material will only
arrive at customers in July 2023. As a result, the sales will only be
recognised in the next financial period.

The electricity shortages in South Africa continue and we have lost 28% of
hours available during the first 2 months of Q4, compared to 20% in Q3, as a
result. Due to the increased uncertainty of supply in the medium term, we have
made a decision to invest in diesel generators which will be able to sustain
operations in South Africa during electricity cuts. The capital cost of these
investments will be GBP750,000 and will be financed over 36 months with one of
our local banks. We estimate that it will take 12 - 14 weeks to receive and
install these generators. Based on 25% of available hours expected to be lost
during the next 24 months, we expect that the capital cost will be recovered
within 24 months.  During this period, we will also continue to investigate
other options to secure electricity supply, for example additional connections
to the local Municipality Grid or a new direct connection to Eskom (South
Africa Electricity Generator and Supplier); however the timelines of these
options remain uncertain and unclear.

 

Werner Klingenberg, CEO of Goldplat commented: "I am pleased with the
appointment of Douglas as COO and believe that his operational strength will
be extremely valuable in securing the current operations and production whilst
we continue to look to investigate diversification and growth opportunities.

The delay in the gold license in Ghana impacted our ability to export and
although we've experienced good production in Ghana, the margins will only be
realised during the last 4 months of the year.

The diesel generators will not just reduce impact of electricity cuts, but
also give control back to operational teams to improve efficiencies and
maximise gold production and provide a sense of normality which we believe is
important for the morale of our employees."

For further information, visit www.goldplat.com, follow on Twitter
@GoldplatGDP or contact:

 Werner Klingenberg                            Goldplat plc                                     Tel: +27 (0) 82 051 1071

                                               (CEO)
 Colin Aaronson / George M Grainger            Grant Thornton UK LLP                            Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100

                                               (Nominated Adviser)
 James Bavister / Andrew de Andrade            WH Ireland Limited                               Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666

                                               (Broker)
 Tim Thompson / Mark Edwards / Fergus Mellon   Flagstaff Strategic and Investor Communications  Tel: +44 (0) 207 129 1474

                                                                                                goldplat@flagstaffcomms.com

 

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute
inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the
Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK
law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the
UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain.

 

 

 

 

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