Panthera Resources PLC (AIM:PAT) reported a narrower loss in the six months to September, gave an update on the next stages of its legal challenge in India, and said it will need to raise more cash before long.
This month the group raised £935,000 from a share issue.
It added that, based on current expenditure levels, the current level of funds is anticipated to be used up within the next six months and Panthera’s ability to continue as a going concern “is dependent upon raising additional capital”.
Results for the first half of the company’s financial year showed a total loss of US$1.01 million or US$0.01 per share compared to US$1.48 million or US$0.01 per share a year ago, which Panthera said reflected “our ongoing commitment to our exploration activities during the period”.
On the Bhukia project in India, the company's Australian subsidiary, Indo Gold Pty (IGPL) expects to issue a notice of dispute (NoD) against India over the breaching of its obligations under the Australia-India bilateral investment treaty, after IGPL subsidiary Metal Mining India (MMI) had its prospecting licence for Bhukia rejected.
September’s decision by the High Court of Rajasthan to dismiss the writ petition, “adds to the act of expropriation,” said Panthera managing director Mark Bolton, “and India has again breached its obligations to provide investment protections to Indo Gold Pty Ltd and its investment under the Treaty”.
He said the group’s focus has now shifted to pursuing a claim against India for breaches of its obligations under the treaty, for which a US$13.6 million unconditional funding facility from Litigation Capital Management Ltd's (AIM:LIT) LCM Funding has been secured in support of the claim.
The issuance of the NoD will be the first step in this process, he said, with the treaty requiring an arbitral tribunal to be constituted within two months of delivery of the notice of arbitration.
“Under the Treaty, compensation for expropriation is required to be calculated on the basis of the market value of the investment immediately before the expropriation. The company believes that the market value of Bhukia is substantial with the project ranking among the top undeveloped gold projects in the world,” Bolton added.
Elsewhere in the group’s portfolio, in Burkina Faso’s Cascades Project, project partner Moydow completed a 5,641 metre reverse circulation drilling campaign; at Mali’s Kalaka, the company completed eight reverse circulation drill holes for 705 metres; and at Bido in Burkina Faso, the company completed IP gradient array for a total of 82 km lines and IP pole-dipole array lines along 6.4 km focusing on the Kwademen Zone.