Johannesburg - The Johannesburg bourse has suspended ZCI’s shares because the miner has failed to produce financial statements by the deadline.
According to JSE rules, listed companies have three months from the end of the period to provide provisional financial statements. ZCI last published its interim results, for the six months to September, in December.
The company explained towards the end of June that it would not meet the JSE’s deadline to publish its results for the year to March by the end of June because it needed additional time to review and analyse the its operating and financial information.
It said: “It is expected that the revision will be completed during the months of July and August 2015 which will enable the company to finalise its annual financial statements by no later than August 31, 2015.”
ZCI’s shares last traded unchanged at R3.98 before the JSE suspended the stock this morning.
The miner, which is incorporated in Bermuda, owns 73.4 % of African Copper, which is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange.
Its main project, through its subsidiary Botswana-based Messina Copper, includes the copper-producing open pits at the Mowana pit and Thakadu pit, and the Mowana plant (collectively referred to as the “Mowana Mine”) which are all located close to Botswana’s second largest city, Francistown, in the north-eastern part of the country.
Mowana Mine and all current estimated mineral resources and reserves are part of the Dukwe Project. The group also, through its subsidiary Matsitama Minerals, holds the Matsitama Project.
Last month, ZCI noted it had inked a loan facility of $2 billion to provide African Copper with additional short-term working capital.
It also cautioned that ZCI was seeking additional funding for the Botswana miner, which owes $102.3 million in total.
In the six months to December, ZCI realised a gross profit from mining activities of $3.5 million, although it incurred an overall loss of $3.1 million.
This was an improvement on the $36.5 million loss it incurred in the same period a year ago, which was caused by an impairment loss of $31.5 million.
IOL