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LONDON (Alliance News) - Strategic Minerals PLC on Tuesday said its subsidiary Southern Minerals Group LLC has obtained an agreement to extend its rights to operate the magnetite operations at the Cobre mine in New Mexico, as it achieved record sales at the mine in December.
Shares in Strategic Minerals were trading up 20% at 0.317 pence on Tuesday morning, following the announcement.
The rights at Cobre were originally due to expire at the end of February 2016, and have now been extended to March 31, 2017.
Strategic Minerals also said it achieved two record breaking weeks of domestic sales from Cobre in December. Sales reached USD75,596 in the week ended December 13, and USD77,981 in the week ended December 20. Average sales for the year were around USD25,000 a week.
The higher level of sales achieved in the last two weeks helped to offset the weaker period in the middle of the year, meaning total sales for the year should now be in line with last year at USD1.3 million, or marginally lower, the company said.
"The recent upswing in sales has been the result of the work put into clearing logistic impediments and to the delivery of the magnetite, and, while we anticipate a slowing of sales during the Christmas period, 2016 is looking like being a good year," Southern Minerals President Clovis Hooper said in a statement.
By Karolina Kaminska; karolinakaminska@alliancenews.com @KarolinaAllNews
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