Ironveld Share News (IRON)

(Sharecast News) - South African iron, vanadium and titanium developer Ironveld reported a "transformative" first half on Thursday, marked by the acquisition and refurbishment of the smelter facility at Rustenburg, which started in August last year.

The AIM-traded firm said the acquisition and refurbishment were funded by an equity placing of £4.5m, which was completed in August.

First mining activities also began in the half-year, to ensure a consistent supply of magnetite ore to the smelter.

Since the period ended, the company saw first production from the smelter, an additional £2m fundraising from shareholders, and the smelter acquisition becoming unconditional.

Looking ahead, Ironveld said it expected first sales to be on track for the second quarter, in line with its original plans.

The smelter was anticipated to ramp up to full production capacity by the middle of the year, with strong demand for Ironveld's suite of speciality metal products.

Additional revenues were expected from the DMS Magnetite joint venture, also due around mid-2023.

"I am very pleased with the progress we made over the half year period to December and have already made so far this year," said chief executive officer Martin Eales.

"The coming months are due to bring many more positive developments as we build up production at the smelter and make progress with our other projects."

At 1525 BST, shares in Ironveld were up 2.86% at 0.36p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.