Goldplat doubles exports after Narok plant upgrade

NAROK, KENYA: Goldplat, the UK-headquartered firm mining gold in Narok County, has more than doubled its exports following an upgrade of its plant earlier this year.

The firm said it mined and sold 1,224 ounces of gold in the three months to September this year compared to 574 ounces sold over a similar quarter last year. Total gold produced at the Kilimapesa Gold Mine plant stood at 1,449 ounces, which was 133 per cent more than 623 ounces over the same quarter in 2016.

The 1,224 ounces or 38 kilogrammes of gold would put the firm’s earnings from the Narok plant at about Sh157 million during the quarter, with gold currently going for $1,279 an ounce. “The Kilimapesa Gold Mine produced 1,449 ounces of gold and gold equivalents, with 1,224 ounces of gold sold on Kilimapesa Gold Mine’s own account during the quarter. The planned production rates at Plant 2 (the new plant) are now being achieved on a regular basis and plant optimisation and cost-cutting is now in progress,” said the company in its latest operational update.

Over the financial year to June this year, the firm produced 3,400 ounces from the gold mine but expects to reach 5,800 ounces in the current financial year following the upgrade of its production plant that it undertook earlier this year.

The firm also said the Mining Ministry had relaxed rules on the exportation of gold concentrates and it can now export every three months as opposed to the earlier requirement of once a year.

The restriction on how often a miner can export mineral concentrates is supposed to enable the ministry to monitor the quantities of minerals leaving the country.