3 weeks or 3 months

quinox target cut on fire, outlook still good
Posted: July 08, 2008, 11:30 AM by Peter Koven
Mining
Just as Equinox Minerals Ltd. was gearing up to put its Zambia-based Lumwana copper project into commercial production, a fire damaged a transformer and substation. The fire is expected to lead to delays, and Raymond James analyst Tom Meyer cut his target on the stock to $6.50 a share from $7.00.
But Mr. Meyer is not too concerned. He pointed out that Equinox's copper forward sale program starts in 2009, so it has some breathing room. He also noted that a separate company called Taseko Mines Ltd. had a similar transformer fire and was able to resume production after just three weeks. He is expecting a delay of about three months at Lumwana, but noted that there could be further downside to the stock if it lasts longer than that.
Mr. Meyer has an "outperform" rating on Equinox shares, and recommends buying them on weakness.
"We are not aware of any other projects of this scale so close to construction completion and more so, we believe the company is exposed to a potential takeout bid after [Monday's] sell-off of [about] 6%," he wrote in a note to clients.