Mining group Wesizwe on Tuesday reported a R19,8-million loss for the year ended in December.
However, the group pointed out that, as an exploration and development focused entity, it was at present not a cash generative business and that the loss therefore represented investment in asset growth and development as opposed to operating losses as understood in a conventional business sense.
Mike Solomon, CEO of Wesizwe, described the past financial year as a highly successful and significant one for the company. He said the company had accelerated its exploration programme to the point where it was now generating about 10 000 metres of core per month and the graduation of the resource from the inferred category to the indicated and measured categories was proceeding apace.
”In June 2006 we had sufficient information on the structural and economic geology of the core project to revise the initial scoping document produced in January 2005 and revisit the conceptual mine design and its attendant capital and operating costs. This revisiting of the design and costs had formed the initial target of 47-million tonnes and 6,7-million ounces of PGM [platinum group metals].
”An independent engineers report on the redesigned mine was delivered to Wesizwe in October 2006 along with new capital expenditure, operating expenditure and metal production estimates.
”The financial models constructed on the basis of these estimates confirmed that the project was still well within the original technical, economic and commercial parameters laid down at the outset of the project as part of the ‘reverse-engineering’ approach adopted by Wesizwe.” – I-Net Bridge