Altius Minerals made a profit of $69.3 million, or $2.38 per share, in the three months ending January 31 — the Canadian iron ore producer’s third quarter. That compares to a $102,000 loss in the same period last year. Quarterly revenues were 1.1 million versus $912,000 for the previous year’s Q3.
Altius also gained $84.6 million after transferring its 100% interest in the Kami iron ore property to Alderon Resources Corp. in exchange for 32.3 million shares of Alderon.
Royalties from the Voisey’s Bay nickel-copper-cobalt mine rose in Q3 due to higher production at the mine, despite the strike at Voisey’s Bay which was resolved last fall.
Altius owns an effective 0.3% net smelter return royalty in Voisey’s Bay, a 2% gross sales royalty in the Central Mineral Belt uranium project of Paladin Energy Limited, and a 3% gross sales royalty in Alderon’s Kami iron ore project.
Altius is exploring for nickel and chromium in Newfoundland and Labrador with Cliffs Natural Resources. The two companies formed an exploration alliance last December, with Cliffs committing$1.8 million over two years. The exploration budget was padded with an additional $25 million in Q3 through a co-investment with Cranberry Capital Inc.
