20th May 2015 09:04
LONDON (Alliance News) - Tertiary Minerals PLC Wednesday said its pretax loss in the first half of the financial year widened on the back of higher costs and a small number of impairments as it continues to progress its fluorspar projects in Sweden and the US.
The fluorspar explorer, which does not generate any revenue, reported a pretax loss of GBP221,576 in the six months to March 31, wider than the GBP84,134 loss it booked in the same period a year earlier as administrative expenses rose to GBP209,230 from GBP152,104 and it booked a small number of impairments.
Fluorspar, also known as fluorite, is an important industrial mineral composed of calcium and fluorine used in a wide variety of chemical, metallurgical and ceramic processes.
The company's most advanced project is the Storuman fluorspar deposit in Sweden, where the company has applied for an Exploitation (Mine) Permit. The County Administration Board of Västerbotten has given approval for the mining concession area, where they believe mining and reindeer husbandry can co-exist. However objections have been received from the Sami reindeer husbandry community, it said.
"The Mining Inspector, who will make the final decision, will need to take these opinions into consideration prior to making a decision which we expect within the next few months," said Tertiary.
Further resource estimation work is in progress, as is planning for further drilling and geophysical exploration aimed at a better understanding of the scale of the mineralised system currently being evaluated at the MB project in Nevada, US.
"The MB Project is exciting, world-class in its scope, and just one of three geographically strategic fluorspar assets controlled by the company, and so it is unfortunate that recent results coincide with cyclical lows in mining markets and commodity prices," it said.
Tertiary shares were up 2.2% to 3.07 pence per share on Wednesday morning.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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