LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Amaroq Minerals reported a pivotal year in 2024, marking its transition from developer to producer with the first gold pour at its flagship Nalunaq mine in southern Greenland.
The AIM-traded pre-revenue company said it produced 1.2 kilograms of gold in November, as it continued construction of its processing plant and camp facilities through the fourth quarter.

An updated mineral resource estimate released post-year-end showed a 51% increase in contained gold, with 157,600 ounces in the indicated category and 326,300 ounces inferred, supporting a potential mine life extension from six to ten years.

The firm said it raised gross proceeds of £27.5m in December through a placing of new shares and secured a two-year, $35m senior secured debt facility from Landsbankinn, enhancing liquidity and simplifying its capital structure.

Amaroq ended the year with group liquidity of $50.5m and gold business working capital of $47.6m.

Exploration activity was extensive in 2024, including drilling across the Nalunaq Target Block Extension zone, the Nanoq target, and the Stendalen copper-nickel project.

Scout drilling was also carried out across the South Greenland Copper Belt.

The updated resource estimate, based on that expanded dataset, would inform the next phase of mine planning and strategic development.

Commissioning delays due to harsh winter conditions had impacted operations, with the company set to provide updated production guidance with its first-quarter results on 14 May.

Amaroq said it was aiming to reach nameplate capacity of 300 tonnes per day by the fourth quarter of 2025, and planned to begin construction of a phase two expansion in the same period, targeting an upgrade to 450 tonnes per day.

"I am very proud of the entire Amaroq team and our wider support teams, who have worked tirelessly during 2024 to progress all the facets of our business; from the very successful development and exploration drilling at Nalunaq, to the construction and expansion of the processing and mining facilities at site and further delineation of the non-gold asset base in Southern Greenland," said chief executive officer Eldur Olafsson.

"Looking forward into 2025, although first gold pour marked a significant moment, the real work we have been undertaking throughout the first quarter of this year, has been in the commissioning of the processing facilities, mining operations and logistics, in order to establish a stabilised rate and bring the facilities up to the nameplate capacity of 300 t/d by the end of 2025.

"In line with this and following some standard commissioning issues over the winter months, which resulted in delays to the original ramp up schedule, we are working hard on completing the commissioning and remaining construction in the spring and summer months, taking advantage of the more clement weather conditions."

Olafsson said that across the wider exploration portfolio, the company had an active field season planned for 2025, in particular at Nanoq, where it had designed a comprehensive multi-rig drill programme.

"Greenland's resource potential and proximity to the world's largest markets for commodities holds; it is a very exciting time to be the largest licence holder in South Greenland.

"Post period end, I was also pleased to note the results from the updated mineral resource estimate, which significantly increased the contained gold at Nalunaq, by over 51% to over 484 koz, demonstrating the robust expansion potential of the Nalunaq deposit.

"Significantly, this increase also extends the potential mine life to 10 years from the original preliminary estimate of six years."

At 1251 GMT, shares in Amaroq Minerals were down 2.06% at 95p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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