Serabi Gold PLC on Wednesday hailed a ‘robust first quarter’ with significant improvements in production, providing ‘an exciting platform for the year ahead’.

The Brazilian-focused gold mining and development company said that gold production totalled 8,005 ounces for the first quarter of 2023, representing a 13% improvement on the same period in 2022.

Serabi’s gold production comprised 5,776 ounces from its 100% owned Palito mining complex, and 2,229 ounces from its recently acquired Coringa gold project. Both sites are located in northern Brazil’s Tapajos region.

Serabi also reported its highest plant feed grades since the third quarter of 2021, an ‘excellent’ improvement it partially attributed to higher grade ore obtained at Coringa.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Hodgson described the production increase as ‘a very satisfying result’, adding that ‘the strong end to the period has carried over onto the start of the second quarter.’

‘It is an exciting time for [Serabi] and this solid start to 2023 provides an excellent platform for the year ahead,’ Hodgson commented.

Serabi said it had a cash balance of $13.9 million at the end of March, a 93% increase from $7.2 million at the end of December 2022.

During the recent quarter, the group secured a loan of $5.0 million from Santander Bank in Brazil, repayable in February 2024. Serabi said: ‘This ensures that the group has adequate working capital to repay a similar loan of $5.0 million that becomes due in May 2023.’

On Tuesday, the Guardian newspaper accused Serabi of mining from Coringa, where ownership of the area is allegedly disputed, without approval from the Brazilian land agency or the consent of local Indigenous communities.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/18/uk-company-mining-gold-in-amazon-on-disputed-land-brazil

But Hodgson appeared unfazed, saying on Wednesday in the company’s trading statement: ‘Coringa permitting continues to progress with the imminent completion of the indigenous study (ECI). We very much hope the ECI will be positively received by the various government agencies and will result in the award of the installation licence in the coming months.’

Shares in Serabi were down 12%, at 30.00 pence, in London on Wednesday morning.

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