Brisbane Times reported that the major stakeholder in Tasmanian miner Beaconsfield Gold NL is considering selling its shares in the company.

A statement from Beaconsfield Gold said that Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad which owns 22.1% of the company planned to offload the shares.

Beaconsfield Gold said in a statement that "MSC has advised Beaconsfield Gold that it is to focus on its core business of tin mining and smelting. MSC has appointed an advisor to seek strategic investors and mining groups interested in acquiring the MSC stake."

Beaconsfield Gold has a market capitalization of USD 52.89 million valuing the MSC stake at about USD 11.7 million. If it decides to sell, the Malaysian company will likely take a hefty loss on the investment after paying USD 22.6 million for the shares in 2008.

Beaconsfield last week reported annual profit of USD 9.086 million up 127.6 million on 2007 and 2008. At 1214 AEST, shares in Beaconsfield Gold were up 0.5 cents at 13.5 cents.

(Sourced from brisbanetimes.com)