It's not going to be easy to get both those deals done in this climate, no matter what sort of ball-tearing project a company has.
I read through the Iluka half yearly and it was ordinary. They have said on a number of occasions that the the market is turning, and it's just not (probably to settle the shareholders). I was also surprised by how little ilmenite they sold which in-turn hurt their costs per tonne.
I think a reasonable gauge for a turnaround may be when David Robb talks about re-hiring staff to man the projects they have put on care and maintenance. All the pigment manufacturers know that Iluka could fire these up in a very short space of time if supply becomes a problem. I think Iluka will be even more careful with how they manage the supply / demand situation. Remember, they don't want new boys on the block like MZI to trample their party.
For me, my views on sand have not changed. I don't really see any upswing until early-mid 2014 at best, and many banks won't use forward numbers on sand projects, especially with all this uncertainty. If they were going to, they would use the recently announced figures from Iluka (and they were not pretty).
Please don't mistake this as a negative on Keysbrook, I just think the industry is struggling and this could continue for some time.
Pep
PS. I don't own any sand stocks.
MZI Price at posting:
1.3¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
