Peru’s small miners block highways, camp outside Congress demanding registry extension
Analyst says that there are strong competing interests between Congress and small-scale miners that could escalate.
Investors dumped Kingsgate Consolidated after the ASX-listed gold miner reported an after-tax loss of well over $300 million for the financial year ending June 30.
The company lost more than 22% on the Australian exchange Thursday after releasing financial results which included impairment charges of $336 million – driven almost entirely by the Challenger project in south-central Australia – and net profit before tax of $17 million.
There was no final dividend for investors this year, after a 5 cent dividend in March. In 2012 the firm paid 10 cents at the end of the fiscal year.
Kingsgate (ASX:KCN) took a beating from lower pricing and sales. Average gold prices received totalled $1,588 per ounce compared to $1,663 in 2012.
A new operating plan which focuses on higher grade deposits also contributed to Challenger losses. Production at the mine was down 24% with overall company output shedding 4% compared to the year before.
In the fiscal year 2014 Kingsgate expects to produce up to 210,000 ounces of gold. Expanded operations at the Chatree Mine in Thailand should help push this figure, the company noted in a report.
