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Tungsten West PLC on Monday said loss widened and revenue was up, while it expected mining operations to recommence in the second half of its financial year.
The owner and operator of the Hemerdon tungsten mine in south-west England said pretax loss in the six months that ended September 30 was £5.1 million, widening from £5.0 million a year earlier.
Revenue was up 3.6% to £208,000 from £201,000. Administrative expenses soared by 83% to £3.3 million from £1.8 million, but cost of sales were down by 29% to £2.0 million from £2.8 million.
Tungsten West said the feasibility study for the Hemerdon project is nearing completion, with summary results expected by the end of the year. The board has approved the re-optimised project with plant commissioning beginning during the half-year period.
Mining operations are subsequently scheduled to re-commence in the second half of financial 2023.
Tungsten West said near-term outlook for tungsten prices is being driven by the Chinese domestic market, which it observed was slowing compared to levels of growth seen for decades.
‘As China begins to find fewer customers for its products both on the domestic and international stage, demand for raw materials such as tungsten will drag. However, in the USA, we have seen continued growth and an increase in demand for US domestic oil and gas, meaning the demand for tungsten outside of China remains strong which might be augmented with an increase in global defence spending fuelled by the Ukraine and Russia conflict,’ said Tungsten West in a statement.
It declared no interim dividend for the half-year period.
Shares in Tungsten West were down 1.0% to 15.10 pence each in London on Monday morning.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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