Diamond miners’ results fail to sparkle

Irish mining company, Botswana Diamonds has reported a 25% widening in its first-half losses.

The John Teeling-chaired company — which has interests in Botswana, Cameroon, and Mozambique — yesterday reported pre-tax losses of £259,000 (€306,000) for the six months to the end of December. This was up by 25.1% on the £207,000 pre-tax loss recorded by the AIM-listed firm for the corresponding period a year earlier.

Total comprehensive losses for the period amounted to £282,000, up from £230,000, while losses per share fell from 21p to 19p. Operating losses increased from £177,000 to £256,000. At the halfway stage of its current financial year, Botswana’s total assets stood at £6.56m, up from just over £6m a year earlier.