The awarding of a mining licence for MinMet's Castromil operation in Portugal has been delayed, the company announced yesterday. The company says it has sufficient funding in the short term, but envisages a fund raising, "either by rights issue or a placing and open offer will be required before December 31st to fund the future activities of the group". MinMet said it will need between £2 and £5 million in additional funding based on present projections.

The announcements were made as part of its interim results for the six months ended June 30th, which show pre-tax losses rising from £108,495 to £500,894.