Kingsgate weighs legal options at Chatree

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Kingsgate Consolidated is pursuing a "range of potential remedies" in regards to its Chatree gold mine, in Thailand, including legal and diplomatic options.

In May this year, the Thai government announced that the Chatree mine had to cease operations by the end of December. While not giving any reason for the forced closure, the government has said that the decision to suspend operations at the mine is in no way a reflection on the way that Kingsgate operated the mine.

The gold miner reported on Thursday that the Thai government’s decision to close down the Chatree operation had "irrevocably" damaged the company and its Thai subsidiary Akara Resources’ business and reputations.

Kingsgate is now seeking compensation on behalf of shareholders for the "material impact" that the decision has had on the company, as the company’s share trading remains suspended.

During the year ended June, the Chatree gold mine delivered 97 510 oz of gold for Kingsgate, contributing to the group production of 146 502 oz of gold. The remainder of the gold was sourced from the Challenger mine, in South Australia.

The Challenger mine was sold in October last year for a cash consideration of A$1-million and a royalty of A$25/oz on gold production from the mine above 30 000 oz.

With the sale of the Challenger gold mine during the full year under review, Kingsgate reported a 19.1% decline in revenues for the full year, down from A$313-million in 2015 to A$253-million.

The net loss after tax also increased from the A$147-million reported in the 2015 financial year to a loss of A$229-million in the year ending June.