Alta Gold files for bankruptcy

Alta Gold Co. of Henderson said it voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors in Reno.

The company said this will "facilitate the reorganization of the company's business and the restructuring of approximately $29 million of outstanding debt and $4 million in trade payables."

Chief Executive Robert Pratt said Alta has insufficient cash flow to service its debt and pay its bills. "We are working to increase production and reduce costs, but we need additional time for gold production to increase and cash flow to improve," Pratt said in a statement. "Daily operations will continue, including the production of gold."

Alta Gold on March 31 said it took a $9.3 million charge tp reflect the reduced value of two of its mines and reported a loss of $9.6 million because of the charge and start-up problems at its new Olinghouse mine in Northern Nevada.

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