Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scotgold hits shipping snag amid tensions over Ukraine

Cononish gold mine in Argyll.
Cononish gold mine in Argyll.

Shares in Scottish gold producer Scotgold Resources dipped after it revealed global tensions over Ukraine are holding up its shipments of precious metal.

Scotgold, which started production from its Cononish mine in the hills of Argyll in late 2020, said its gold concentrate was currently stuck in port awaiting transportation overseas.

And it also revealed it had agreed terms for a £250,000 short-term loan from Bridge Barn, a company owned and controlled by non-executive director Nathaniel Le Roux.

The shares were down nearly 4% at 64p at market close today.

Production ramp-up still on track

Scotgold said it need the cash to cover its immediate working capital requirements.

These have been affected by the delay in the shipment of gold concentrate from port, due to “current macro and geopolitical events impacting global shipping lines”, the firm said.

Alternative Investment Market-listed Scotgold said it was unable to give any further details of the port’s location or shipping route, citing commercial reasons.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, it said: “Production and the company’s mine optimisation plan to ramp up the production profile of its Cononish gold mine continue to progress in line with management’s expectations.”

Scotgold saw its share price rocket more than 15% earlier this year when it announced record production from Cononish, near Tyndrum.

It said it had achieved its highest gold concentrate output to date in December.

A total of 101 tonnes were produced that month, equating to around 700oz of contained gold – worth about £930,000 at current market prices.

The company, which also announced new debt funding worth £500,000, added it produced 1,508oz of gold and 7,200oz of silver from Cononish in the final quarter of 2021.

Cononish is on the edge of Loch Lomond and within the boundary of 
the Trossachs National Park.

Scotgold spent years trying to secure permission for its production plans.

The company now aims to become a “mid-tier multi-asset gold producer” in Scotland.

It currently holds 13 lease option agreements covering an area of nearly 1,120 square miles of the central Highlands, mostly in rural Perthshire.

Three prospective areas close to Cononish have been identified and Scotgold intends to explore these in 2022 and 2023.


Is Scotland on the threshold of a gold bonanza?

Scotgold extends life of gold mine at Cononish