* Q4 loss C$0.07 vs EPS C$0.01 last year
* Says impairment charge on flagship mine hurt operations
* Shares fall 9 percent
By Arnav Sharma
March 6 (Reuters) – Eastern Platinum
posted a quarterly loss as the company took an impairment charge
on the value of its flagship Crocodile River mine in South
Africa, sending the Canadian miner’s shares down as much as 9
percent.
The company said it took a charge of C$46.3 million in the
quarter as it determined that the carrying value of the mine
exceeded the expected net present value of its future cash
flows.
“The loss was almost due to the write-down of the value of
their (Eastplats) Crocodile River mine assets in South Africa,”
Canaccord Genuity analyst Damien Hackett told Reuters.
High labor and electricity costs and unfavorable foreign
currency have hurt metal producers like Eastplats in South
Africa, Hackett said.
Analysts have grown increasingly pensive about the South
African precious metals industry, as returns remain at
historically low levels partly due to rising capital costs.
Continued…
