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Mining group Scotgold Resources posted a full-year loss as it continued to press ahead with the development of its delayed Cononish gold and silver project in Scotland.
Pre-tax losses for the year through June amounted to $2.5 million, compared to losses of $3.5 million year-on-year.
Scotgold said first-phase production at Cononish was on course to commence on Monday, targeting average annual gold equivalent production of 9,910 ounces.
A phase-two expansion, targeting a more than doubling of annual production, had been brought forward by 11 months to May 2022.
'To be on the brink of first pour at the Cononish gold and silver mine, despite the unprecedented challenge of navigating Covid-19 and associated lockdowns, is testament to the professionalism and hard work of both the team at Scotgold and all those connected with the project over the course of the year under review and beyond,' chief executive Richard Gray said.
'The commencement of phase-one production at Cononish, which will become Scotland's first commercial gold mine, will transform Scotgold into a production as well as a development and exploration company, one with a defined path to future growth.'
'We have the funds in place to accelerate the phase-two development of the mine, which is targeting average annual gold equivalent production of 23,500 ounces compared to 9,910 ounces during phase one, and also to embark on a systematic exploration programme across our licence base, which covers an area of around 2,900 square kilimetres of the Dalradian Belt.'
'As a result, Scotgold is ideally positioned to be at the heart of gold mining in Scotland for many years to come and, with this in mind, I look forward to providing further updates on our progress.'
At 9:46am: (LON:SGZ) Scotgold Resources Ltd share price was 0p at 116.5p