Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited (LON:CGH) shares glittered a little on Friday after it signed a joint venture with Turkish mining contractor Çiftay İnsaat Tahhüt ve Ticaret to collaborate on the Tulkubash and Kyzyltash projects in the Kyrgyz Republic.
The AIM-listed miner said under the deal Çiftay would progressively invest up to US$31.5mln in cash for a 12.5% stake in the two projects, which Chaarat said would cover the remaining equity for Tulkubash.
WATCH: Chaarat Gold looks to quadruple earnings in the next three years
Meanwhile, the firm said it was currently working to finalise project financing to cover the remaining capital requirements for Tulkubash, expecting this to complete by the end of 2019 or early 2020.
Construction at the site was continuing with first gold production on track for late 2021.
Martin Andersson, executive chairman of Chaarat, said Çiftay had “extensive experience” as a mining contractor and was well placed to manage operations at Tulkubash and Kyzyltash.
He added that the firm expected Tulkubash to become a “long-term cash generator capable of sustaining organic growth”, which would in due course facilitate the development of Kyzyltash.
In a separate release announcing its results for the six months ended 30 June, Chaarat reported revenues of around US$30.9mln, up from US$0 in the prior year, and an operating loss of US$7.5mln compared to a loss of US$3.7mln in 2018.
The company said the new revenue was almost wholly attributable to its five months ownership of the Kapan mine in Armenia, which contributed earnings (EBITDA) of US$3.2mln over the initial period of ownership.
Chaarat ended the period with cash and cash equivalents of US$4.9mln.
In late-morning trading, Chaarat's shares were 1.8% higher at 28.2p.
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