The loss making Talvivaara Mining Company regards the price prospects for its main product nickel as uncertain.

Mr Pekka Perä CEO of Talvivaara said that "The market conditions have become challenging once again, with nickel prices falling back to their 2011 lows seen earlier in the summer, and the very recent financial market volatility has impact on business confidence."

In the period from April through June 2011, the company’s operating loss was EUR 1.2 million, while a year ago the company showed an operating profit of EUR 2.5 million. In the second quarter, Talvivaara nevertheless managed to produce 3,951 tonnes of nickel and 7,662 tonnes of zinc. In the same period last year, the corresponding figures were 2,729 tonnes of nickel and 5,575 tonnes of sink. Nickel is far more valuable than zinc.

Talvivaara's second quarter operations were disturbed by a decline in world nickel prices. After the release of the company’s Interim Report for January to June 2011 period, Talvivaara Mining's share price went down by 6.55% to close at EUR 3.85, a far cry from the 2011 high of EUR 7.41.

(Sourced from www.hs.fi)