Business
Preliminary Results
Preliminary Results.
About this update from Ecr Minerals Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Mercator Gold PLC\n31 October 2006\n\n\n 31 October 2006\n\n\n Mercator Gold plc\n ('Mercator' or the 'Company')\n Ticker- AIM:MCR\n\n\n\n PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS\n FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 June 2006\n\n Chairman's report\n\n The financial year ended June 2006 was a significant year for Mercator Gold plc.\n\n 8 October 2005 marked the first anniversary of our listing on the AIM market of the London\n Stock Exchange. In that month we also announced our intention to acquire, at a cost of AUD$18\n million dollars, 100% control of the St Barbara's Meekatharra Goldfield.\n\n The above acquisition included ownership of four historically productive gold areas namely\n Paddy's Flat, Yaloginda, Nannine and Reedy. The gold resources contained within these leases\n now stand at 2,160,000 ounces.\n\n At Yaloginda, as part of the St Barbara purchase, we also acquired the Yaloginda Mill with a\n rated capacity of 3,000,000 tonnes per annum of oxide material or 1,250,000 tonnes per annum\n of primary or fresh rock.\n\n The Company's management views the St Barbara acquisition as an opportunity to transform the\n Company from junior explorer to mid-tier producer and to work towards recommencing production\n on a profitable and sustainable basis as soon as it is practicable.\n\n To assist us in reaching sustainable and profitable production the Company undertook two major\n capital raisings:\n\n • the first, in December 2005 raised £10 million at 50p and allowed us to complete\n the acquisition from St Barbara Ltd on 31 January 2006;\n\n • the second in May 2006 raised a further £10 million at 70p.\n\n Since completing the acquisition and related fundraisings the Company's activities have been\n primarily focused upon the expansion of its resource base and the lifting of the quality of\n selected resources to mineable reserve status.\n\n As at the date of this report:\n\n • Total resources had risen from 1,960,000oz to 2,160,000oz.\n\n • Indicated resources had risen from 1,099,000oz to 1,401,000oz.\n\n The indicated resource category is presently the subject of mining studies to assess what\n proportion may be suitable for profitable mining.\n\n During its long history the Meekatharra district has been at various times a prolific\n generator of substantial profits from many individual mines and a quiet...