re: .more suprises - perhaps a lack of energy?
as per the following article at miningweekly.
in any case aacording to the quarterly, Anvil have managed to accumulate nearly $10M in copper stockpiles (1500t more than the last quarter) that hasnt yet been brought to account - could probably be as a result of the wet season and restricted road movements.
This has a PE of less than 10, and a good chance of a dividend next year.
refinery closure won't affect copper mining - Zambia
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The closure of Zambia's only oil refinery after a fire will not affect operations of the country's lifeblood copper and cobalt mines, Energy Minister Felix Mutati said yesterday.
"The shutdown will have a zero impact on the mines and the rest of the economy," Mutati told Reuters in an interview.
"The mines have enough (fuel) stocks. Oil Marketing Companies are importing for them and we also gave them licences to import. The quantity of fuel being imported is on the assumption that there is no production at Indeni," he said.
Indeni, produces more than 350 000 litres of petrol per day - enough to meet Zambia's daily consumption. It suspended operations on Wednesday after a fire at one of its furnaces. The refinery also produces more than 1-million litres of diesel fuel which was not affected.
Indeni, co-owned by French oil major Total and the Zambian government, has been plagued by breakdowns because of obsolete equipment and was shut for almost four weeks in September before reopening in mid-October.
The closure led to severe fuel shortages that forced Nkana copper smelter, owned by Vedanta Resources unit Konkola Copper Mines and Mufulira smelter - owned by Mopani Copper Mines, a unit of Canada's First Quantum Minerals and Swiss firm Glencore International, to drastically scale down production.
The fuel shortages also forced thousands of commuters to walk to work and sent retail petrol prices spiralling.
Zambia reacted by giving mining firms licences to bring in their own fuel and Heavy Fuel Oils necessary for smelting. It also ordered millions of litres of fuel for reserve stocks.
A senior Mopani executive confirmed his mine would not be affected by the latest Indeni mishap.
"We are okay. Our main worry was the availability of Heavy Fuel Oils, which we are importing on our own because we now have a licence," Emmanuel Mutati, Chief Services Officer at Mopani, told Reuters by telephone from the small mine town of Mufulira.
"Our supplies, British Petroleum, are also giving us Heavy Fuel Oils and we have actually resumed production (at Mufulira smelter)," said Mutati.
A Konkola spokesman said the firm had no comment "because we want to continue working quietly without raising any storms".
Zambia's central bank said on Wednesday that finished copper rose to 312 253 t for the first nine months of 2005 compared to 306 164 t between January and September last year.
Copper production is Zambia's main economic engine and its vast copper mines account for nearly 70% of its forex earnings, as well as being a major employer in this southern African country of 10-million people.
Analysts say copper output rose despite fuel shortages experienced by Zambia in September and October because mining firms had stockpiled copper ore ahead of the shortages.
The impact of fuel shortages which forced smelters to either halve production or shut down completely, would only be felt in the first three months of 2006, they said.
Persistent problems at Indeni are a major embarrassment to President Levy Mwanawasa, who has launched a high-profile campaign centred on improved infrastructure and fighting corruption ahead of elections next year, when he is expected to stand for a second and final five-year term as president, analysts said.
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