LONDON (Alliance News) - Forte Energy NL Wednesday said it has finalised its joint venture with European Uranium Resources Ltd and said its loss for the year widened on the back of an impairment charge related to its assets in Guinea.
The Australia-focused minerals exploration company said it has completed payment of the CAD500,000 to European Uranium under the agreement between the two. The deal gives Forte a 50% interest in the company's Slovak subsidiaries, Ludovika Energy and Ludovika Mining.
The two companies hold mineral licences for the Kuriskova and Novoveska Huta uranium projects.
Under the terms of the deal, Forte will have to fund a minimum of CAD350,000 per year on the Ludokiva entities over the next ten years in order to retain its interest, along with an obligation to spend CAD350,000 in the first year.
The company also posted its full year results for the year to June 30 this week, showing a wider pretax loss on the back of a fall in revenue and higher expenses.
The group's pretax loss for the year was AUD4.3 million, wider than the AUD3.2 million posted a year earlier. This came as revenue in the year fell slightly, down to AUD1,987 from AUD5,590, but was mostly driven up by impairment expenses, which hit AUD1.2 million, having been zero the year before.
The impairment charge was related to Forte's decision to relinquish the Bohoduo project in Guinea. Exploration at the site had not been sufficient to provide a resource update, it said.
Forte shares were up 6.7% to 0.272 pence on Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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