Gold miner Lihir Gold Ltd
(ASX:LGL) says it produced 294,000 ounces of gold for the June quarter, taking the half year production to a record 612,000 ounces up from 556,000 in the six months to December 2008.
Lihir says the strong result was due to record production at Lihir Island in PNG, increased output at Mt Rawdon in Queensland and a full six month contribution from the Bonikro operation in West Africa.
Looking ahead the miner says production in 2009 remains on track to be in the range of 1 to 1.2 million ounces, inline with previous guidance.
Lihir says production in the current quarter will be significantly below the June quarter due to routine scheduled plant maintenance at Lihir Island.
Total costs per ounce for 2009 are expected to be maintained below $400 an ounce. Lihir Gold posted a profit in 2008 after a loss the year before.
Brewer Foster’s Group Ltd (ASX:FGL) says it has approved a US$500 million three year debt facility to be used for general corporate purposes and improve liquidity.
The company says the initial US$300 million facility was more than two times oversubscribed and increased to US$500 million following a review of commitments from Asian banks.
The facility includes a fully drawn tranche and revolving facilities in Australian and United States dollar denominations.
Chief Financial Officer Angus McKay, says while Foster’s retains substantial existing un-drawn facilities, this raising ensures the company maintains a strong and diversified medium term committed liquidity position for the Group. Foster’s Group net profits have been decreasing over the last two years since reaching a high of close to $1.2 billion in 2006.
Energy company Linc Energy Ltd (ASX:LNC) has requested a trading halt this morning pending an announcement regarding a capital raising.
In a statement to the ASX, Linc says it is planning a placement to institutional and sophisticated investors.
On June 24, Linc announced that it had appointed UBS to manage the sale of its Emerald, Galilee and Pentland assets.
Linc also said that although negotiations with Chinese coal group Yanzhou Coal had been ongoing, exclusive discussions had ended.
Shares will remain in a trading halt until Monday August 3 or an announcement is made. Linc Energy has posted net losses in the last five years.
