I recall CTO management last year boasting about their share price outperforming BDG can someone please show them this news article
VICTORIA'S HISTORIC GOLD MINE STILL PRODUCING STRONGLY
Sydney - Thursday - July 30: (RWE Aust Business News)
Bendigo Mining Ltd (ASX:BDG), Australia's second-largest and longest-operating gold mine, has just lifted its quarterly gold production by 33 per cent.
In 158 years, the Bendigo goldfield has produced 22 million ounces, and it is estimated to still contain high-grade gold mineralisation beneath the historic workings.
Yesterday, the company reported treating 48,507 tonnes of ore at 9.1g/t gold during the June quarter for production of 13,122 oz gold (compared with 9,884 oz in the March quarter), at a cash operating cost of $639/oz.
Most of the ore was sourced from Gill reef, with the remainder from Dale, Garrard and Dean reefs, as well as low-grade stocks.
Gold grades across individual mining blocks varied during the quarter from 5.5g/t to 13.6g/t gold, averaging 9.1g/t gold.
Tonnes treated rose 20 per cent on the previous quarter, reflecting improved operating efficiencies and increased operating time.
Gold sales generated revenue of $14.3 million during the quarter from the sale of 11,807 oz gold at an average price of $A1,212/oz.
Cash in bank at June 30 was $57.1 million ($50 million at March 31).
Over the nine months since October, the cash balance has increased by $14.3 million due to the positive cashflow from operations.
"The careful and flexible operating strategy which we have pursued is proving to be very successful at Bendigo," said managing director and CEO Rod Hanson.
"The Henty gold mine was acquired just after the end of the quarter from Barrick Gold, and I believe that this acquisition will be a turning point for the company.
"We now have two quality gold operations which are generating positive cash flow and both possessing excellent exploration potential in well-endowed and unique goldfields."
On July 10 Bendigo Mining completed the acquisition of the Henty gold mine, located on the west coast of Tasmania, from AurionGold Ltd a subsidiary of Barrick (PD) Australia Ltd.
Bendigo has agreed to pay Barrick a total consideration of $8 million plus royalties of up to $22 million arising from future production from exploration discoveries.
The non-royalty consideration comprises 11,235,955 fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of 26.7c for $3 million, plus $5 million in cash.
Barrick is now a 2.2 per cent shareholder of Bendigo.
Bendigo will also assume Henty's employee and environmental liabilities, and an existing royalty obligation.
The company is excited about the exploration and development potential of Henty, and has a vision of making it a long-term quality gold producer.
The deal transforms Bendigo from a single mine company, with Henty becoming the company's second underground operating gold mine along with the Kangaroo Flat mine in Bendigo.
"Henty is an excellent fit and complements Bendigo's growth strategy as it provides additional gold production immediately and significant exploration potential, combined with a low risk financing structure," Mr Hanson said.
"The company is acquiring a mine that is expected to be cash flow positive for the remainder of calendar 2009, combined with significant exploration potential.
"Importantly, the acquisition is consistent with Bendigo's strategy of building a profitable mid-tier gold company," the managing director said.
Bendigo is committed to working at increasing mine life at Henty, and as such, plans to retain the current workforce of 92 employees.
Based on current plans, Bendigo's aim is to mine and process approximately 130,000 tonnes at a grade of 6g/t gold to produce about 20-25,000 ounces of gold at Henty over the balance of calendar 2009.
Total gold production from both Henty and Kangaroo Flat is expected to range between 50,000 to 65,000 ounces for calendar 2009. Shares of Bendigo yesterday barely moved, adding 1c to 24c. Rolling high for the year is 32c and low 9.6c. The company has 507.8 million shares on issue with a market cap of $121.8 million.
In June, Bendigo Mining reported that the quarter was strong. Production during April and May totalled 7,906 oz from the processing of 27,800 tonnes at an average grade of 9.4 g/t gold. Preliminary numbers up to June 26 indicated gold production of around 4,500 oz was likely to be achieved for the month.
2009 AAP Finance News Wire. Provided by ProQuest LLC.
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