Hard times — but no ‘cute deals’
Central Rand Gold’s problems are piling up thick and fast
Exact financial position will only be known by end-June
New management of Central Rand Gold has not stinted on providing information to the market. They have put out 11 news and operational updates in the first five months of this year. So it is fairly clear, even though the company has not released its preliminary December year-end results yet — they should have been published before the end of March — that the financial position is dire. Central Rand listed 10 years ago on the prospect of extracting gold left behind in relatively shallow old workings around Johannesburg. It raised a staggering R1bn ahead of its listings in London and Johannesburg but today has little to show for it other than two processing plants and a shallow underground mine near Langlaagte that has been largely sterilised by rising acid mine water. Since 2009 the company has been in dispute with its black empowerment shareholders, Puno Gold, over funding arrangements. The dispute has frequently turned nasty, with Puno at one stage managing to have Central Rand’s mi...
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