Workers descend into a gold mine in Migori County. FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
Sales of the precious metal stood at Sh119.4 million in the same period a year earlier, based on the current gold price of Sh132,731 ($1,326) per ounce.
Despite the recent price gains, Kilimapesa remains in losses, which its parent company attributes to lower quality of the gold produced and technical challenges in its factory.
London-based Goldplat Plc’s Kenyan subsidiary Kilimapesa recorded a 53.3 per cent sales jump to Sh183.1 million in the quarter ended March, helped by higher production.
Sales of the precious metal stood at Sh119.4 million in the same period a year earlier, based on the current gold price of Sh132,731 ($1,326) per ounce.
The price of gold touched highs of $1,833 (Sh183,300) per ounce in September 2011 as investors rushed to buy the commodity in the aftermath of the global financial crisis which eroded the value of currency-based assets.
Its price subsequently dropped below the $1,100 (Sh110,000) mark in late 2015, a level from which it has recovered over the past two years.
Despite the recent price gains, Kilimapesa remains in losses, which its parent company attributes to lower quality of the gold produced and technical challenges in its factory.
“Losses continued at Kilimapesa due to lower grades and problems with the impact crusher at Plant 2,” Goldplat said in a trading update.
Kilimapesa’s output for the three-month period was 1,241 ounces, up from 964 ounces during the same period last year.
The company’s unit gold sales rose 1.5 times from 900 ounces to 1,380 ounces.
“As we continue to focus on building gold production and increasing profitability, we look forward to progressing the turnaround at Kilimapesa and securing new strategic supply contracts at an international level for our recovery operations,” Gerard Kisbey-Green, CEO of Goldplat said in a statement.
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