(Alliance News) - Pembridge Resources PLC on Monday said its loss widened sharply in the first half of 2020 as mandatory quarantines were imposed on employees and contractors entering Yukon, Canada.
Shares in Pembridge were down 24% at 3.14 pence in London in morning trading.
Pembridge acquired the Minto copper-gold-silver mine located in central Yukon in June 2019 from Capstone Mining Corp and recommenced operations in October 2019. At that point, Minto's operations had been on Care and maintenance for around a year.
The mining company reported a USD8.8 million pretax loss for the six months ended June 30, far wider than the USD2.9 million loss posted the year before.
Pembridge commented: "Canadian and Yukon government measures have had significant impacts on the Minto mine, including mandatory quarantines of employees and contractors entering the Yukon. Such quarantines have disrupted operations and caused above normal operating expenses but have enabled operations to continue while ensuring the safety of the mine's employees.
"There are significant uncertainties with respect to future developments and impact to Minto related to the Covid-19 pandemic, including the duration, severity and scope of the outbreak and measures taken by government and businesses to contain the pandemic."
Revenue amounted to USD25.4 million compared to no revenue the year before, as Minto had not yet re-entered production by the end of the previous period.
However, production costs exceeded revenue, being USD27.5 million. Additionally, depreciation and amortisation came to USD4.3 million. Neither of these were reported the year before.
While administrative expenses were lower at USD1.3 million compared to USD2.9 million, overall the company's operating loss widened to USD7.3 million from USD2.9 million.
Finance cost of USD1.4 million compared to nothing the prior year further deepened loss.
Chief Executive & Chair Gati Al-Jebouri said: "These interim financial statements set out the position of our company at a time when all economic sectors are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. It is very encouraging to report that the Minto operations did not stop during this difficult time and development has continued.
"Development was delayed by a few months due to the pandemic, however as of late July 2020 we are mining from a new ore body - Copper Keel. Copper Keel is a previously identified but not developed ore body. With the price of copper having recovered from the lows reached earlier this year, Minto is now concentrating on achieving profitable operations at Ebitda and retained profit levels."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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