BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - Belgian zinc producer Nyrstar NYR.BR said it was committed to pulling out of mining and added it would make small investments to improve its remaining mines in North America and make them more attractive to a potential buyer.
Nyrstar entered mining in 2009 to secure supply of raw materials but a string of operational issues led to the division making a loss and the company decided to sell its mines.
In the first quarter of 2017, Nyrstar's remaining mines in North America made a small core profit of 3 million euros ($3.3 million).
"Nyrstar... will continue to utilise limited additional capex to prove up reserves and strengthen mine plans to facilitate sales of its remaining North American mining asset base," the company said.
After agreeing to sell all of its Latin American operations, the group still owns mining assets in the United States and Canada.
For the company as a whole, core profit in the first quarter increased by about a third from last year to 55 million euros, boosted by its zinc smelting business which benefited from higher commodity prices and a stronger dollar. ($1 = 0.9181 euros)