RE:FY 2022 losses of .06c EPSIt looks like they are in a race against time to get the Velardena mine up and running. From the interviews that the CEO did around this time last year, they were forecasting about a year to begin production at the mine and a few months after that to get the oxidation plant online.
From the company's most recent update on Velardena, additional drilling must be done to replace a vein that presents higher than expected mining dilution:
Q3-Q4 2022: Further review of the results from the Company’s test-mining activities at Velardea over the summer and a review of the mine plans have led Golden to the decision to undertake a development and exploration drill program at Velardea prior to proposing the restart of mining. The drilling is required to further delineate alternative veins to replace portions of the San Mateo vein in the Company’s mine plan. The eastern portion of the San Mateo vein did not meet expectations in the recently-completed test mining due to vein-parallel fractures in the host rock which led to unacceptably high mining dilution. The drill program, which will include both underground and surface drilling, will target veins that have not been mined recently at Velardea but which show historical evidence of potential economic grades and widths. The Company anticipates starting the program in the fourth quarter, with results becoming available during the first quarter of 2023. During the balance of 2022, the Company is also evaluating screening and ore sorting alternatives to improve mine head grade, processing material mined during the test mining to confirm recovery expectations and completing a budget level capital study for the project. These activities are not expected to be completed until the first quarter of 2023 and therefore any decision on a potential restart of mining operations at Velardea will be deferred until at least the end of the first quarter of 2023, and potentially later.