Turbulent commodities make it a tough six months for Sable

Sable Mining was forced to tread carefully in the first half of the financial year, as the poor resources price environment made it harder for the company to extract value for shareholders.

The AIM-listed miner with activities focused in sub-Saharan Africa said it focused on "prudent allocation of resources" during the period to 30 September, in a bid to reduce its capital outlay.

Sable Mining said it wanted to continue to add value to both its iron ore and coal assets, despite the turbulent global resources sector.

It advanced the Nimba Iron Ore Project in Guinea closer to full feasibility, and signed a development agreement over its coal assets in Zimbabwe.

"However, the board is conscious that the current price environment for its commodity portfolio is not favourable", chairman Jim Cochrane said in a statement.

"The board is therefore reviewing activities to suit the current environment, and to ensure that the existing cash is deployed in a manner consistent with current global trends."

For the six month period, Sable reported a pre-tax loss on continuing activities of USD $1.27m (£0.86k) - an improvement on 2014's interim loss of $3.32m. At 30 September, cash balances were $5m, down from $11.5m last year.

"The challenging market conditions currently facing the resource industry have meant that the board has had to review and refine its development strategies during the period under review, including implementation of a cost reduction programme and reduction of capital outlays to ensure funds are effectively and strategically utilised", Cochrane added.

At 1100 GMT, shares in Sable Mining were down 13.41% to 0.37p.