TSX-listed Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) has reported a 5.7% decrease in revenue to $14.8-million in the first quarter of the year, compared with revenue of $15.7-million having been reported in the first quarter of last year.

The company’s mine operating loss, therefore, widened to $4.7-million in the first quarter, compared with mine operating income of $5.3-million.

Gross margin decreased from 33.7% in the reporting quarter to -31.6%.

Eastplats’ operating loss of $8.1-million in the first quarter compares with an operating loss of $30 000 in the first quarter of last year, while the net loss attributable to equity shareholders was $6.9-million, or $0.03 apiece.

The company’s attributable loss in the first quarter of last year amounted to $900 000, or $0 apiece.

Eastplats attributes the widened losses to the restart of underground operations at the Crocodile River Mine (CRM), in South Africa, which resulted in increased production costs and site services.

The company had a working capital deficit of $47.4-million as at March 31, which widened from a working capital deficit of $38.7-million at the end of December last year.

Eastplats CEO and president Wanjin Yang says the company experienced a challenging start to the year as it ramps up underground run-of-mine tonnages at CRM; however, the focus on increasing underground production to feed to the platinum group metal and chrome circuits will improve production results in future quarters.

Eastplats owns, directly and indirectly, a number of PGM and chrome assets in South Africa. All of the company’s properties are situated on the western (CRM) and eastern limbs (Kennedy’s Vale, Spitzkop and Mareesburg) of the Bushveld Complex, the geological environment that hosts about 80% of the world’s PGM-bearing ore.

Operations at CRM currently include mining and processing ore from the Zandfontein underground section to both produce PGM and chrome concentrates, respectively.

The majority of the company’s revenue in the first quarter was derived from the processing of PGM and chrome concentrates, of which 72% of the revenue accounted for chrome concentrates.

The company produced 14 690 t of chrome concentrates in the first quarter, compared with 79 882 t having been produced in the prior comparable quarter.

Eastplats completed a retreatment project at CRM in the first quarter and continues to facilitate depositing of reprocessed tailings.

Chrome concentrate production from underground operations in the quarter amounted to 9 761 t.

Moreover, the company produced 3 175 oz of PGM in the quarter under review, from the Zandfontein underground section at the mine.