Minco moves into the red in H1

UK, Ireland and Canada zinc and lead explorer Minco said it made a first half loss of $0.51m compared with a profit of $79,000 for the same period ended June 30, 2015.

The AIM-listed firm said the loss included a foreign exchange loss of $98,000 compared to a gain of $0.55m.

Minco said it invested $0.26m on exploration of its mineral properties, of which the largest amounts were expended on the Buchans zinc lead project in central Newfoundland.

Administrative expenses, excluding foreign exchange, were $0.43m compared to $0.497,000 in the same period in 2015.

The company added that it mineral properties with a book value of $13.2m, cash and cash equivalents of $3.31m and a working capital surplus of $2.95m, compared to a working capital surplus of $3.62m at December 31, 2015.