Diversified mining and exploration company Bauba Resources managed to narrow its basic loss a share to 0.01c apiece in the year ended December 31, 2019, compared with a basic loss a share of 2.55c apiece in the year ended December 31, 2018.
The company’s total comprehensive profit for the year under review increased by 118% year-on-year to R1.8-billion.
However, the period was not without challenges. Bauba on March 27 said it experienced a challenging six months, owing to a weak chrome ore market.
The price for 44% chrome concentrate fell from $160/t at the start of 2019 to $143/t by year-end.
Meanwhile, the company continued to make progress on further development at its underground Moeijelijk chrome mine, in Limpopo, during the year under review.
Bauba spent R27-million in capital expenditure on development of trackless declines, which were on track to achieve steady state production of 30 000 t of stoped ore per month during the second quarter, naturally after the national lockdown period ended.
The company said that although short-term market outlooks were hard to predict, the medium-to-long-term fundamentals for chrome ore remained strong, with prices due to stabilise.