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Coast miner raises $52m for share buyback plan.
Martin Rasini.

Gold Coast-based CuDeco, which is well down the path to becoming a copper miner, is planning to lift the company's value through an estimated $52 million share buyback.

The company told the stock exchange yesterday the board had approved the on-market buyback of up to 15.8 million ordinary shares in a program to be activated on June 14.

CuDeco, which is progressing the resource-rich Rocklands Group project near Cloncurry, said the buyback would be undertaken over a 12-month period.

It would be worth some $52 million at the present share price of $3.30.

Company Secretary Bruno Bamonte told the Bulletin the buyback would be undertaken as and when management felt the time was appropriate.

"We believe the share price does not reflect the real value of the company", he said.

"Based on the principle that we can raise capital at a premium to the share price, a buyback will improve value for shareholders and we can take advantage of opportunities to benefit shareholders as they arise".

Mr Bamonte said it was impossible to identify a clear reason for the share price to languish but it was probably related to the fact CuDeco was not yet a producer.

"We think that as we move closer to production start-up in the second half of 2013, the share price will be more reflective of value".

The State Government in April granted approval for the Rocklands Group mine's operations, the final regulatory requirement for the project.

CuDeco was granted a 30 year mining lease for the project late last year, along with rights to process three million tonnes of ore a year for 10 years.

Since then the company has been placing contracts for equipment and infrstructure for the project, 15km west of Cloncurry and 100km east of Mount Isa, which has a 270 million tonne, or $12.5 billion, copper-equivalent resource.

The mine will have an ore processing plant for annual production of about 480,000 tonnes of copper gold and pyrite/cobalt concentrates along with about 300 tonnes of metallurgical magnetite.