Barton Gold secures $1.49m in Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive credits
Barton Gold (ASX: BGD) (OTCQB: BGDFF) has confirmed the granting of $1,488,500 in credits from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
The company is receiving the maximum Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive (JMEI) credits it had applied for, related to the 2024/25 financial year.
The JMEI credits are being allocated to the company for distribution to eligible acquirers of new shares.
JMEI Scheme
The JMEI scheme enables exploration companies to create refundable tax credits to distribute to eligible investors, who will generally be entitled to refundable tax offsets (in the case of individual shareholders or superannuation funds) or franking credits (in the case of corporate investors).
The credits that can be issued to any given investor are limited to the amount paid by an eligible investor to acquire new shares, multiplied by Barton’s corporate tax rate.
Under the government scheme, Australian resident shareholders who acquire newly-issued Barton shares between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025 are entitled to receive JMEI credits.
Government support
“We thank the ATO and the Australian federal government for their extensive support of Barton’s work in South Australia,” said managing director Alex Scanlon.
“Barton has a considerable track record of generating non-dilutive sources of funding, now exceeding $10 million during the past three years and federal government programs have been a significant contributor.”
“Barton is presently very well capitalised with over $10m in cash and has no plans to raise any new capital.”
“However, Barton’s prospective ability to distribute these JMEI credits offers considerable value to our investors.”
Gold Mill program
Barton’s bank balance was further boosted in mid-June when the company sold approximately 1,400 ounces of gold recovered from its December 2022 mill cleanout and preservation program.
The gold was sold via a treatment and refining contract for the company’s gold concentrate materials, including 11 dry metric tonnes of concentrates.
It received a $4.25m provisional payment, with the final amount to be calculated upon independent third-party weighing, sampling and moisture determination assays, payability and other cost factor calculations along with the finalised average July 2024 gold/silver prices.
The “war chest” is being utilised to progress the development of its historic Tarcoola and Tunkillia gold projects in SA where numerous activities are currently underway.