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Copper Strike
IF MINING industry gossip is on the mark, Tom Eadie's Copper Strike went in to a trading halt last week for some very good reasons.
The talk was that the November 2004 float was putting the final touches to a $10 million underwritten equity-raising priced at about 46¢ a share to fund its charge to base metals producer status by early 2010.

The kicker for the charge is that Canadian mining giant Teck Cominco has apparently decided not to exercise its right to earn a 51 per cent interest in Copper Strike's Chloe and Jackson discoveries, the high-grade deposits that should get its broader Einasleigh project in north Queensland off to a flying start.

Teck's decision reflects the situation that while Chloe and Jackson were never going to be meaningful for the $24 billion group, full ownership of the deposits works wonders for Copper Strike with its $34 million market cap.

Expect to see Copper Strike outline plans to complete a feasibility study on the Einasleigh development by March next year, leading to first production by early 2010. Initially at least, annual production of 20,000 tonnes of zinc, 8000 tonnes of lead and 5000 tonnes of copper in concentrates would seem likely.