Johannesburg - Central Rand Gold (CRG) said on Wednesday that it had received the transfer of another tranche of US $250 000 of the US $1 million loan agreement with one of its shareholders, Jia Bang Wang.
Last month, the transfer of the second tranche of US $500 000 was delayed due to certain exchange restrictions.
In January, the struggling Johannesburg mining company entered into a new loan agreement with Wang for funding in the amount of US $1 million in a bid to resume its underground operations. Wang already owns 9.48 percent shareholding at CRG.
CRG said it was working with Wang to assist with the release of the balance of the loan monies.
"The board of directors are mindful of the company's cash position, which has been improved by the delivery of this tranche of the loan, and will continue to exercise prudence in its expenditure," CRG said.
The miner said the loan would provide the company with sufficient working capital for the immediate future and for the procurement, shipping, instalment and commissioning of a Concentrator Circuit.
De-watering has prevented the company from restarting any underground mining operations since they were halted in 2014.
After securing the loan agreement, CRG in February resolved to procure a Concentrator Circuit to upgrade the gold grade of the Mine Waste Dumps materials before further metallurgical processing.
The Concentrator Circuit will contain centrifugal concentrators, a scrubber, de-watering screens, water/slurry pumps and other ancillary equipment.
The miner further said it would update the market on progress of the shipping, instalment and commissioning of the
Concentrator Circuit presently and will provide a further operational update in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the negotiation of annual wage increases have ended in a deadlock and the employees have embarked on industrial action in the form of a strike.
This comes after CRG and union officials met at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to resolve issues. CRG said it has lost five days' production to date as a direct result of the strike.
"On 9 May 2017, the picketing rules have been signed at the CCMA, thus allowing non-striking workers to return to work. The operation will be run with skeleton staff in the interim," CRG said.
The key assets within CRG's current portfolio are the Consolidated Main Reef operations and the Crown Mines development.