In dual fund-raisings, Toronto-listed Glass Earth raised $C2.9 million and $C250,000, the latter in warrants and options last year, and sold placer (loose alluvial) gold produced from its 50/50 joint-venture tenements near Alexandra last year for $C316,000.
The $C1.71 million loss for Glass Earth, which has spent more than $35 million in mainly southern exploration during the past five years, follows a loss the previous year of $C1.46 million.
During the past year, shares in Glass Earth spiked to a high of 84c in late August, then slipped to a low of 40c in early February, and are trading about 46c.
Glass Earth holds permits totalling about 10,000sq km in the North and South islands.
A month ago, Glass Earth bought out its southern joint-venture partner for $4 million in cash and shares, saying at the time it was targeting a potential quadrupling of Central Otago gold production this year, up to 100-110 ounces per week from three sites, one in the Ida Valley and two in the Manuherikia valley.
Yesterday, Glass Earth chief executive Simon Henderson said the sole "gold recovery unit" in the Ida Valley would be joined by a second unit, at another site within three weeks, and a third unit was being refurbished to be operational at another site by June.
"Placer-mining expansion in 2012 should see a significant increase in both gross and net revenue," Mr Henderson said in a market statement yesterday.
Its operations in the North Island remain focused on large epithermal (hard rock gold) systems throughout the Hauraki, including a joint venture with industry heavyweight Newmont, adjacent to its open pit and underground operations in Waihi.
In recent weeks, Glass Earth announced a "significant" gold find during test drilling in the Hauraki. One of the 19 results found 17.2g of gold per tonne (g/t) and 24.2g/t of silver in a 9.7m drilling sample.
At its 100%-owned Muirs reef project in the same area, the first of 17 diamond drilled holes, totalling 2500m, have been drilled around Massey Reef. Initial results included a 2m intersection of gold at 2.46g/t and another 17m long, at 1.58g/t.
