Glencar Mining incurred a loss before tax of $61.54 million (€65.5 million) in 1999 compared with a loss of $2.79 million (€2.97 million) in 1998.

This reversal is almost entirely due to a write-off against the carrying value of the Wassa mine in Ghana. It recorded a turnover of $26.4 million in its first year of gold production.

However, because of the lower gold price, the company decided to make a $71 million write-off, which Glencar noted is a non-cash transaction. The company has already announced a rights issue to raise around $5.35 million.

The new shares are being issued on the basis of one new ordinary share at 12p sterling per share for every two shares held.

Glencar said it intends to use $2.5 million of the proceeds of the rights issue on its exploration properties and a further $2.5 million will be advanced to its subsidiary, Satellite Goldfields, to fund working capital requirements at the Wassa mine.

It has also announced it has successfully negotiated a revised debt repayment schedule with the group's senior lenders "which more accurately reflects the anticipated gold production profile over the next four years".

This revised payment, it noted, is conditional on the completion of the rights issue which is underwritten by Davy Corporate Finance and Williams de Broe.

The latest accounts show operating costs of $17.4 million.

Minority interests of $32.3 million bring the loss down to $29.2 million.

The diluted loss per share amounted to 44.8 cents compared with a loss of 4.3 cents.

Glencar has a 100 per cent stake in Rennicks & Bennett which holds a prospecting licence in Co Meath, immediately to the north-east of the Navan ore body.

It said it was "reviewing recent announcements by Tara Mines on the discovery of a new ore zone containing some 13.5 million tonnes of 8.9 per cent zinc and 1.8 per cent lead to the south-west of the main Navan orebody in the upper part of the geological strata known as the Pale Beds".