acquires australian tungsten pty ltd

"17 March 2005 GTN ENTERS INTO AN AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE AUSTRALIAN TUNGSTEN PTY LTD

The directors are pleased to announce that they have signed the agreement to acquire, subject to shareholder approval, 100% of the issued capital of Australian Tungsten Pty Ltd (ATPL).

As previously announced ATPL owns 100% of the King Island Scheelite Project on King Island, Tasmania. The King Island project contains the remaining resources of
the King Island scheelite mine as well as possible extensions to the known ore bodies and other tungsten exploration opportunities.

The directors also note that the notice of meeting is currently being prepared and, subject to ASX approval, will be issued shortly."

Recent reports on tungsten show that the market is firm. Eg from Metal-Pages 17 March 2005: "The tungsten market is still forging ahead and prices for APT and yellow tungsten oxide soar higher. Business in APT is reported to have been active this week as consumers bite the bullet and face the current rising market prices as they surge from $140/mtu at the end of last week to about $155/mtu this week. Business in yellow oxide has been reported at $14,800/tonne. A trader attributed the sharp rise in APT prices to the fact that the Chinese basically are not offering any material."


"Tungsten still moving up (02-mar-2005)
LONDON (Metal-Pages) 02-Mar-05. Tungsten product prices are moving up across the board, with APT – now at $140/mtu CIF – at its highest in around 30 years. Raw material shortages stemming from China remain the impetus, fuelling further gains in ferro-tungsten – up from $19-19.70/kg to as high as $24.50/kg today – while tungsten concentrates prices are rising on an almost daily basis.

There have been moves in China, initiated by the APT producers, to cap the concentrates prices. However, so far, the talk is not translating into action and Chinese concs is now around rmb58,000, up from about rmb53-55,000 last week. Another meeting has been set for March 7 to discuss the problem, which domestic producers believe could cause lasting damage to their industry. However, western observers are cynical about the action, and believe it will prove impossible to cap the price. “The Chinese APT producers don’t want to make forward sales because the price of concs keeps on rising,” said one major trader, adding: “But I don't see how they can control the concentrates price. Material is short on the ground in China and people in Europe who have APT are holding on to it, as the price could well hit $170-200/mtu.”

In China, local traders complain of difficulty sourcing concentrates – a situation which has worsened since the Chinese New Year. Chinese mines and smelters closed over the holiday period in early February, and many have yet to resume production two weeks after the official end of the holiday.

Offers out of China, unsurprisingly, are at extremely high levels, with APT being touted at $140/mtu CIF and ferro-tungsten at $23/kg and being offered on to European consumers at $24-24.50.

Few would bet on tungsten turning tail in the coming weeks, with the general consensus that further gains are on the cards."