The company's operating loss of £1.45 million (US$2 million) was lower than the £1.53 million (US$2.2 million) reported for 2016, while it notched up a profit before tax of about £276,000 compared with a loss of around £603,000 the previous year.

It reported a basic loss per share of 14.2p, compared with 24p in 2016, and again did not declare a dividend.

The company is moving towards the development phase for its Araguaia nickel project in Brazil and signed an agreement with Vale SA (BZ:VALE3) in December to acquire 100% of the advanced Vermelho nickel-cobalt project in Brazil for US$8 million. 

It completed a £9.2 million (US$13 million) raising in January 2018, the bulk of which closed before year-end, and had £9.4 million cash at the start of the year.

"Horizonte, with the advanced Araguaia ferro-nickel project moving towards the development phase and Vermelho's potential to produce nickel sulphate and cobalt, is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the current demand forecast, in a space with little competition," chairman David Hall said.

"We believe that with our continued progress at Araguaia and becoming a multi-asset nickel and cobalt company we are currently well placed to benefit from the improving nickel market fundamentals, driven by the robust market for stainless steel combined with the fast growing EV market."

The company said its feasibility study for Araguaia was "well advanced" and due mid-year and it had applied for a mine construction licence.

Horizonte shares had hit a three-year high in Toronto in December of C11c and closed unchanged yesterday at 7.5c, representing an almost 17% drop year-to-date.