Tunisia focused metal miner Maghreb Minerals (AIM: MMS) released its full year results today, reporting lower expenses and losses, while achieving exploration goals for the year and making progress in finding partners for its lead and zinc projects.
Cutting operational costs by curtailing the exploration programme was a priority during the past year and the company was able to bring down the total loss from operations to £1.44 million from £1.78 million a year ago as exploration expenses were reduced to £747,000 from £1.25 million. Losses per share were cut to 1.58 pence from last year’s 1.92 pence.
However, it still managed to achieve the objectives set out for the year, completing mining and metallurgical scoping studies on the Bou Jabeur – Gite Est deposit and the minimum work requirements required to renew its exploration permits in Tunisia.
“The company's approach will be to focus more on its fluorspar assets, where it will be pursuing other opportunities both corporate and organic in this area to increase its exposure to the fluorspar sector with the support of the company's major shareholder,” said Maghreb’s Chairman Richard Linnell.
The group, which currently has a cash resource of £237,000, down from last year’s £1.2 million, said it was confident it would attract further investment to pursue its expansion into the fluorspar sector internationally, which discussions with possible partners for the Bou Jabeur deposit and other projects in its Pb/Zn (lead/zinc) portfolio were ongoing.
“Whilst we are pursuing this option, shareholders must be aware of the current economic circumstances and recognise that this process could take some significant time,” added Linnell.
The Bou Jabeur – Gite Est deposit has an inferred resource of 4.76 Mt (million tonnes) grading at 5.67% combined Pb/Zn with 39.6% barite, 7.69% fluorite and 7.3 g/t silver. The economic appraisal part of the scoping study indicated breakeven for the project with a 20% increase in lead and zinc prices. The project’s economics could be further improved if the resources are increased to allow for a mining rate of greater than 1,500 tonnes per day, which the company said could be possible with more exploration drilling.
Maghreb expects metal prices to increase due to a shortfall in supply, which is forecast to occur between 2010 and 2012. Meanwhile, Maghreb plans to continue conserving its resources as much as possible after meeting all requirements to keep its portfolio intact.