Losses narrowed slightly at Irish exploration firm Connemara Mining in the 12 months to the end of 2014 as the company said it is well positioned to take advantage of new opportunities this year.

The AIM-listed firm, which is led by John Teeling, reported a pre-tax loss of €308,292 on Wednesday, compared to a loss of €348,100 for the 12 months to the end of 2013.

Losses per share fell slightly, from 1.06 cent to 0.74 cent.

Connemara is an exploration firm with principal assets in zinc/lead exploration licences as well as shear-hosted gold exploration licences in Ireland.

During 2014 the company raised £400,800 (€507,417) through the issuing of 20,040,000 ordinary shares to fund projects.

In a statement accompanying its results, Mr Teeling said that despite the "appalling" stock market environment for explorations firms, the company had been active of late with a number of projects ongoing. These include joint ventures with Teck of Canada in Limerick and Meath and with Hendricks in the Wicklow and Wexford area.

Earlier this year the company also acquired five new prospecting licenses in Co Donegal covering 187 sq km on the Innisowen peninsula.

“We are financially secure. The funds raised in 2014 are adequate for current plans and operations,” said Mr Teeling.