Mincor reports operating loss

Shares in West Perth nickel miner Mincor Resources fell today with the announcement of its quarterly results, which reported a $1.51 million operating loss for the quarter and an unaudited $17.68 million profit for the year.

Mincor’s working capital fell $7.73 million during the quarter to $33.89 million at the end of June.

The company blamed the June quarter loss on increasing cash costs in the second half of the financial year, accompanied by the falling nickel price.

Cash costs for the second half were $5.93 a pound of nickel, up from the first half cost of $4.96/lb nickel.

The company said it had commenced its ‘Restructuring for Growth Strategy’ during the quarter, whereby it would slow its mining operations and focus upon exploration so as to position the company to be capable of rapidly ramping up production should the nickel spot price increase.

Mincor expects to produce in the range of only 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes of nickel-in-ore in the first half of the new financial year, down from the 4,986t and 3,646t of the 2015 financial year’s first and second halves, respectively.

Mincor shares were down 8.2 per cent to 50 cents a share at 1100 AWST.