Goldplat secures three-year licence in Ghana
African gold producer Goldplat announced on Tuesday that it has received confirmation from the Government of the Republic of Ghana that its licence to purchase and deal in gold in the country has been renewed for a period of three years.
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The AIM-traded company’s wholly-owned gold recovery subsidiary in Ghana, Gold Recovery Ghana, recovers gold from byproducts of the mining process, providing an economic method for mines to dispose of waste materials and adhere to environmental obligations.
GRG was previously operating under a temporary licence, pending confirmation that its application for the renewal of its gold licence had been accepted.
As per previous licences, Goldplat said the renewed licence grants it the right to purchase and process byproducts for the purpose of recovering and exporting gold and concentrates.
Under the terms of the licence, GRG will pay a royalty to the Ghanaian Government of 5% on all minerals obtained from its operations.
In order to maintain the licence, GRG must continue with its previously announced plans to install an elution plant.
The licence requires that an elution column arrives in Ghana by 30 June 2017, pre-construction work is completed by 30 September 2017, the elution plant is installed by 31 December 2017, and the plant is commissioned and brought into production by 30 June 2018.
The company said it is confident it can install the elution column within this timeframe to meet the defined milestones.
Customs clearance and shipping of a number of containers - containing concentrates and other by-products destined for further processing outside of Ghana, which have been awaiting the renewal of the licence - will begin immediately, Goldplat’s board confirmed.
The profits from the sale of the affected stock will be realised in H2 2017 rather than the first half of the financial year, although the company said it does not expect this shipping delay to affect the group's full year results.
“We are very pleased that we have been granted a three-year licence at our Ghanaian recovery business, as a major pillar of our growth strategy is the international diversification of sourcing of material for import into and processing at this operation,” said Goldplat CEO Gerard Kisbey-Green.
“We are in complete agreement with the government regarding the need to install and commission an elution plant, which will significantly increase our operational capacity, and look forward to delivering on our construction targets.”