Ann: Production commencement at Alara JV Copper-Gold Mine in Oman, page-447

Copper on $US15,000 trajectory as supply disruptions hit home

**More cash to flow into junior end of marketWhile the larger producers have captured investor attention for now, this interest is expected to flow through to explorers and developers very soon.“The larger stocks are leading this rally and we would expect more capital will flow down the market cap chain in search of more torque as confidence grows,” Cleary tells Mining.com.au. “This will likely be a multi-year rally and we expect flows to compound into the sector in coming quarters.”Another indicator of a burgeoning market, is the increasing number of majors on the prowl for deals, with central NSW’s mineral-rich Lachlan Fold Belt – Kincora’s stomping ground, a major drawcard. Fortescue (ASX:FMG) subsidiary FMG Resources recently inked a farm-in and joint venture agreement over Magmatic Resources’ (ASX:MAG) Myall Project that will see the major spend $14 million over six years to amass a 75% stake in the project. This was in addition to Fortescue’s $3.71 million acquisition of a 19.9% stake in Magmatic. Others like AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), Metals Acquisition (ASX:MAC) and Newmont (NYSE:NEM) have also executed deals with junior NSW explorers. “I think that thematic of people wanting copper exposure and the lack of the bigger names on the ASX is certainly there with OZ Minerals being bought out last year and Rio Tinto buying out Turquoise Hill in Canada. You have had a number of examples of that M&A taking place,” Kincora’s Spring says.“Inflection Resources has got a great deal with AngloGold Ashanti and they are doing a pretty significant drill out at the moment. They are a plus-$20 million market cap. Magmatic recently did the deal with Fortescue and that saw them significantly re-rate and they are now a plus-$40 million market cap.”Tribeca’s Cleary says the sector is already quite small after several M&A deals globally over the last 20 years and will likely only get smaller as the major players are all talking buy versus build.**