(REUTERS) -- Mwana Africa reported a narrower first-half loss, driven mainly by a jump in production at its Freda Rebecca gold mine in Zimbabwe, and said it continued to be in talks with the government there about the issue of turning over a 51 percent stake to locals.

Foreign mining firms in Zimbabwe are in discussions with the government over a law that would require them to turn over a 51 percent stake to locals or face asset seizures.

Mwana continues to engage with the Zimbabwe government, to meet indigenisation requirements for its operations ... and is confident that a satisfactory solution will be found, Mwana said in a statement.

In October, the AIM-listed gold miner told Reuters it had been talking to the government about the issue.

The April-September pretax loss was $0.7 million, compared with a loss of $12.0 million a year ago. Revenue more than doubled to $37.6 million.

Mwana said first-half gold production was 21,893 ounces at Freda Rebecca, compared with 10,915 ounces in the year-ago period.

Mwana Africa's shares, which have shed about 17 percent in value over the past six months, closed at 4.075 pence on Friday on the London Stock Exchange, valuing the business at 29.2 million pounds ($45.61 million).

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