Losses trebled at Irish gold explorer Arkle last year

Losses at Irish gold explorer Arkle Resources trebled last year, the company's latest set of annual results show.

The company saw its operating loss increase from €295,216 in 2019 to €654,099 last year.

Its loss for the financial year went from €313,860 in 2019 to €1.1 million last year. The loss per share doubled from 24 cents to 50 cents.

The increase in losses was attributed to a €330,000 loss on impairment of exploration and evaluation assets, as well as a loss of €441,829 due to fair value volatility of warrants.

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Arkle chairman John Teeling said drilling on the Mine River licences in Wexford and Wicklow was producing "good results", notably where earlier detailed soil sampling had identified a totally new zone with gold potential some 750 metres from the 2017 Tombreen discovery.

“We have drilled three 100 metre holes into this area, now known as Tombreen West, and each hole contained multiple zones of gold bearing veins providing a strong indication of a gold bearing system,” he said.

“We moved the fourth hole approximately 700 metres away into the main Tombreen area. This 200 metre hole showed visible gold in veins between 145 and 150 metres depth. Laboratory analysis is underway with results expected in early July 2021.

“Reflecting the evidently positive results of this hole an immediate revision of the exploration programme is underway.”

Mr Teeling said additional holes will be drilled in a pattern around Hole 4 in Tombreen. Permits have been obtained and drilling will commence once the current Hole 5 is completed.

“Of equal significance is the suggestion that the shallow holes at Tombreen West may not have gone deep enough to detect the high grade gold,” he said. “It is likely that one or more 200 metre holes will be drilled at Tombreen West.”

In relation to a second site in Co Donegal, Mr Teeling said the group “rediscovered what we believe to be the gold bearing veins we first found in 2016”.

“We intend to drill Donegal when permits are obtained and after the current campaign is completed at Mine River,” he said.

“The Donegal drilling campaign will focus on the encouraging soil sample results and follow up trenching survey data obtained in 2020 which we have now analysed and modelled. The focus of the new campaign will be to follow the vein first identified in 2016 which contained high gold grades.”

Mr Teeling added that Arkle is “well-funded” for current and any proposed exploration campaigns. “We anticipate that outstanding warrants will be exercised which would further increase available funding for exploration,” he said.