LONDON (Alliance News) - Coal miner Prairie Mining Ltd on Tuesday reported its first half loss narrowed on a fall in exploration costs as it continues discussions with its Polish partner and the Polish Ministry of Environment.
In the six months to December 31, the coal miner's pretax loss narrowed to USD2.3 million from USD5.3 million in the same period in 2017. The company's revenue decreased 34% to USD290,957 from USD441,023.
Prairie Mining's exploration & evaluation expenses decreased in the period to USD1.8 million from USD4.0 million, with its business development expenses halving to USD228,795 from USD512,267 million.
Prairie Mining said discussions with Polish coal miner Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa SA over the potential co-operation at its Debiensko and Jan Karski projects are ongoing.
JSW has said before that it believes an agreement between the two companies could lead to production from the projects within 18 months of the relevant permits being granted.
The companies have signed a non-disclosure agreement, ending September 28, allowing them to discuses a deal structure and commercial terms.
Prairie Mining also confirmed it is continuing to "take all necessary actions to preserve its rights" in relation to its Debiensko mine concession. In February, Prairie Mining formally notified the Polish government of an "investment dispute" between the company and the government.
The company remains "hopeful" the dispute can be resolved amicably. The dispute revolves around the Polish Ministry Of Environment refusing Prairie Mining's concession amendment to move first production of coal at Debiensko to 2025 from 2018.
The coal miner said its focus in 2019 will be on obtaining an environmental consent decision at Jan Karski.
Prairie Mining's net cash at the end of 2018 was USD8.6 million, compared to USD11.0 million at June 30, with net assets of USD10.0 million, down from USD12.4 million at June 30.
Shares in Prairie Mining were untraded at 17.60 pence on Tuesday.