Stratex swings to profit as it sells Turkey mine

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-quoted Stratex International on Thursday reported a half-year profit after the sale of its interest in the Altıntepe gold mine, in Turkey, helped to boost its coffers.

The developer posted a profit of £880 216 in the six months ended June, which compares with a loss of £1.98-million in the same period of 2016.

Stratex raised $8-million from the sale of its 45% interest in the Altıntepe mine.

The sale of its cornerstone asset in April was followed by the announcement a month later that Stratex will buy a Brazil-focused gold business, ASX-listed Crusader Resources, in an all-share deal. The acquisition will see Stratex acquire a number of assets in Brazil, including two gold projects, Borborema and Juruena, which host a combined resource of 2.7-million ounces in aggregate.

“This acquisition will significantly increase the scale and market capitalisation of the enlarged group and offers the platform for management to implement its long-term strategy of becoming a gold production and exploration company, whilst presenting an opportunity to provide significant value to shareholders,” nonexecutive chairperson Peter Addison said on Thursday.

Stratex has also increased its interest in Thani Stratex Resources (TSR) and now owns 30.5% of the business. The company reported that drilling programmes at TSR’s Anbat prospect, in Egypt, and the Pandora project, in Dijbouti, had returned encouraging intersections.

Stratex further owns a 23.22% interest in Goldstone Resources, which is exploring the Homase-Akrokerri project, in Ghana, which has an existing 602 000 oz resource.

“There has been significant activity across the reporting period with the sale of our Altıntepe investment, in Turkey, and the opportunity to acquire two significant exploration and development assets as part of the proposed Crusader Resources transaction. I expect further positive news from our exploration portfolio and the potential to acquire near development assets will bring us closer to realising our strategy of building a gold producing company,” commented CEO Marcus Engelbrecht.