Angus & Ross loses £0.5m
Article Date: Jun 07 2002Tantalum mining hopeful Angus & Ross, which has been talking to Ofex-traded Camec about a joint venture in Namibia, saw its losses nearly treble from £168,000 to £496,000 in the year to February, writes Robert Tyerman.
Despite the deficit, Aim-listed A&R draws comfort from a report on its Greenland tantalum deposit from international consultant Behre Dolbear suggesting a preliminary resource of 15 million tonnes at more than 500 parts per million of tantalum and 600 parts of niobium. But costs threaten to pose a problem and more funding will be needed.
The company ended the year with cash of £390,000. But it says this is 'not enough for a substantial drilling programme in Greenland or Ireland [its other exploration area]'.
Cabot Corporation of the USA paid £1 million for 20 per cent of Angus & Ross (AGU) last year and has an option to put in another £1 million at 20p a share. With tantalum prices down in 18 months from $200 a lb to $25 a lb and A&R's shares 23 per cent off today at 9.25p, Cabot has yet to exercise this option.
A&R, whose potential Greenland production would have relatively high costs, is understood to have put out feelers to Camec about a lower cost operation in Namibia. As yet, Camec has not responded.
This story is from Growth Company Investor, the independent voice on fast-growing companies. Subscribe today for the latest AIM recommendations.
