By: Creamer media

The Ghanaian operation achieved a profit before tax of £806 000 for the quarter – the third quarter of the company’s 2026 financial year – which Goldplat says was supported by the operations team delivering to plan and a higher, albeit fluctuating, gold price.

The South African operation achieved a profit before tax of £2.62-million, compared with a loss of £15 000 in the third quarter of the prior financial year, and was supported by the operations team delivering to plan, securing one-off batches and higher, albeit fluctuating, gold price.

The company says Gold Recovery Ghana (GRG) had a productive quarter, with the focus remaining on maximising gold recoveries from material sourced and on site, mainly from clients in Ghana.

As communicated in the second-quarter financial results announcement, Goldplat says GRG is investing £700 000, of which £374 000 has already been incurred to improve processes to increase recoveries and environmental management.

The company explains that the local Ghanaian beneficiation requirement has impacted on all aspects of its business, adding that it continues to review, update and align its process and procedures to manage risks and maximise margins.

Additionally, the company says its yearly environmental permit and gold licence for the project is in the process of being renewed. 

Further, Goldplat reports that Goldplat Recovery South Africa’s continued focus on sourcing and building client relationships resulted in an increase in by-products market share and with good volumes during the quarter.

The company says these efforts, combined with solid gold recoveries from its low-grade circuits, supported by the high gold price, resulted in a good operating performance for the quarter to March 31.

Although, in the short term, the focus will be on extracting value from the current high gold price, in the longer term, Goldplat says the aim is to find better visibility of supply through diversifying into other precious metals or other types of gold resources.

In the interim, the company says the visibility of supply of low-grade soils for its milling circuits remains strong, with more than 12 months of material for processing on site and more under contract.

Moreover, although the company's tailings storage facility (TSF) has previously been subjected to a resource estimate Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) resource of 81 959 oz in 1.43-million tonnes, Goldplat says no feasibility or economic assessment has been completed.

The company explains that the ability to process and determine potential value, therefore, remains subject to significant technical, regulatory, funding and execution uncertainties.

During the quarter, Goldplat says a decision was made to find ways to take control of some of the uncertainties quicker.

These involve taking ownership of the pipeline application, involving consultants to assist with the pipeline application but also with all the technical requirements around integration into DRDGOLD's current infrastructure.

“We believe information gathered from this, should be sufficient to enable us enter commercial discussions with DRDGOLD on utilisation of their servitudes, plant and deposition capacity.

“We also continue to evaluate methods through which we can process the TSF, as a start, through facilities on our premises,” says Goldplat.

At the same time, the company notes that it plans to update the current Jorc resource and do specific recovery analysis to provide better statistical data on gold contained and recoverable in the TSF through planned processes.

The company says it should be in position to update the market with an updated Jorc resource by the end of October.

Meanwhile, Goldplat also reports that it received its environmental protection agency (EPA) licence for Gold Recovery Brazil during April. The company says spiral equipment that arrived in Brazil in January has been installed and commissioned.

Goldplat notes that sourcing in South America remains ongoing with the focus on retaining and increasing material received from current clients and also to increase market share in general.

“We continue to receive material from our regular sources in South America with material being sent to Ghana and South Africa for processing. In time, we will evaluate how much of this material can be processed and handled locally in Brazil.”

The company reports that an interim dividend of £300 000 will be paid to shareholders on June 12, with the record date being May 29 and ex-dividend date May 28.

Additionally, the company says its cash balances in the group remained strong at £5.08-million at the end of the third quarter, with cash being held up in debtors in South Africa due to higher levels of supply.

Goldplat says cash has increased to £9.16-million. The cash balances will mainly be used to manage working capital requirements in the group, other capital requirements and further shareholder distributions in future.

"Our operations continue to deliver excellent results, albeit in an uncertain environment with numerous variables, supported by increased volumes and increasing gold price,” says Goldplat CEO Werner Klingenberg.

He adds that the company’s focus continues to be on strengthening its control over the outcome on the TSF, maintaining and increasing market share, improving recoveries and margins in Ghana, unlocking potential in other precious metals in South Africa and maximising value from the current high gold price.

“Operationally there is a strong sustainability focus through implementing value adding systems and processes. There is still significant work to be completed but all our efforts will create a more robust business providing a niche solution to the industry it operates in,” he says.