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(Wallace Refiners) – Shares in Scottish miner Scotgold (SQZ:LSE) plummeted Friday by roughly 11% after the company explained a whole raft of issues at its Scotland-based mine.
The firm said tonnage throughput for January was negligible as multiple materials handling issues between circuits were identified but which to a large extent have now been addressed.
They then added, remaining issues restricting throughput are expected to be addressed by end Feb 2021. The build-up of plant operating labour in January was also slower than planned, as recruitment was impacted by both the Christmas period and Government imposed Covid 19 restrictions.
Richard Gray, CEO stated “Scotgold remains in a strong position to continue our commercial growth trajectory after achieving first gold on 30 November 2020. Despite the frustrating but resolvable materials handling issues that arose this month, our confidence in the ultimate performance of the mine continues to grow. The lessons learnt, as well as opportunities identified, during this Phase 1 ramp up will be used to optimise our plans for the Phase 2 expansion in 2022.”.
He then added “The year ahead will also see us advance our exploration programme, which is focused on identifying areas with the potential to increase our Mineral Resources within reach of the Cononish Mine, identifying potential orebodies at Beinn Udlaidh and Inverchorachan and notably making new discoveries within the Company’s option areas. We have had encouraging results back with further follow work planned and we look forward to keeping you updated on our findings.”
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Wallace Precious Metals The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Wallace Precious Metals nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Wallace Precious Metals and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
