Sierra Leone-focused iron ore miner African Minerals saw losses more than double last year as operating expenses ramped up.

The loss for 2010 from continuing operations was $46.5m, compared with a loss in 2009 of $17.4m.

The company's assets are still in the development stage and are not yet generating any revenue.

The company said phase one of the company's Tonkolili project is fully funded and on schedule, with physical completion at about 70%, as of mid-April. The company expects the project to enter commercial production in the fourth quarter of 2011.

As at the end of December, the company had a cash balance of $372m. Since the year end, the company has received $46m as China Railway Materials, a major Chinese industrial corporation, climbed on board as a major shareholder by taking a 12.5% stake in the company.

Exploration and evaluation assets increased by $108.2m to $198.1m, resulting from continued feasibility and exploration work on the Tonkolili project along with initial pre-production costs.

---
jh

Related share prices
African Minerals Ltd. (AMI) share price