Big freeze slows Beowulf

28th Feb 2011 14:21

The release of full year results from high-flying miner Beowulf was the signal for a bout of profit taking.The shares fell back from their 52-week high of 74.75p to below 70p, after the company posted a pre-tax loss of £0.51m for 2010, compared to a loss of £0.41m in 2009, and said that drilling progress in Sweden had been slowed because of the severe winter weather.Between November 2010 and January 2011, the average daily temperature encountered on the Swedish drilling operations was about -30 degrees celsius. This served to delay drilling, as under Swedish law, drill operators must halt operations at temperatures below -25 degrees celsius.The shares are still up more than 1,800% on the year, however, after drilling activity on its flagship iron ore projects served "to demonstrate the significant potential value" in its asset portfolio..