re: Ann: Major New Copper- Silver Project - K......

re: Ann: Major New Copper- Silver Project - K... http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/overload-looms-but-conference-visitors-should-save-their-eyes-for-gold-shows/story-e6frg9ex-1226105601794

Robin Bromby
From:The Australian
August 01, 2011, 12:00AM

Copper still strong

AND yet, for all the gloom, the bellwether metal is still behaving with some robustness.

Copper closed on Friday at a healthy $US9830/tonne after almost making $US9900 in Asian trade, helped, of course, by strikes at Chilean mines.

We've seen a second monthly gain for the copper price, with strong Chinese spot buying.

There are now concerns that a combination of China tightening and the high red-metal price could see subdued demand for the rest of the year.

Nevertheless, the long-term demand-supply picture for copper is strong given the continuing modernisation of many developing countries combined with questions about how many new mines will be coming into production up to 2020. This is why such strong interest continues in acquiring projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We've seen New York-listed Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold spend $US2 billion on its 57.75 per cent owned Tenke Fungurume copper mine, while China's Jinchuan Group is offering $US1.36bn to South Africa's Metorex, owner of the Ruashi copper-cobalt mine in DR Congo.

During the week, Black Fire Minerals (BFE) became the latest entrant taking an option over 54 per cent of the Kangeshi copper-silver project on the Katanga copper belt. Previous drilling by Vale produced intersections including 11m at 1.1 per cent copper and 23.6g/tonne silver.

Among the copper producers in the Congo is Tiger Resources (TGS), a stock that has had strong broker support but which has seen its price come off considerably.

It sold its first copper concentrate in June from the Kipoi mine.

And then there's Anvil Mining (AVM), which has been extracting copper in the country since 2002 and its now ramping up the $400m Kinsevere stage two to produce 60,000 tonnes a year of copper cathode.

Apart from the Congo, both have European trading house Trafigura as the largest shareholder (37 per cent of AVM and 28 per cent of TGS) and both are also listed in Canada.

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