China Nonferrous Gold Ltd on Friday reported a widened half-year loss due to higher finance costs on the back of rising interest rates.

The Cayman Islands-based mineral exploration and development company operating the Pakrut gold project in Tajikistan said its pretax loss in the first half of 2023 widened to $8.1 million, from $946,000 a year prior. Revenue fell slightly to $30.2 million from $30.7 million.

Finance costs doubled to $12.0 million from $5.9 million, with China Nonferrous citing higher market interest rates.

Looking ahead, the company expects the Pakrut gold project in Tajikistan to remain on track to achieve its output target of 700,000 tonnes of ore per year for 2023. Chief Executive Officer Feng Zhishuo said the firm ‘continues to seek to improve its production capacity through technological innovation. Whilst improving production, the company is also focusing on perfecting and improving the smelting process by reducing production costs, increasing recovery rates and improving competitiveness.’

China Nonferrous shares were flat at 0.60 pence on Friday afternoon in London.

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