ROH - according to this article 60% of Las Min and Central Rocklands is worth $600m per year !
Then you have the other 40% plus Solsbury Hill Raiden Wilgar and all the other yet to be discovered gems l
CuDeco surge on news of $12b deal Nick Nichols, business editor | April 28th, 2011
GOLD Coast copper-gold explorer CuDeco surged more than $100 million in value yesterday after ''sticking to its guns'' to secure a $12 billion mine-making deal with China.
Shares in the company jumped as high as 25 per cent after a seven-week trading halt following news of a long-awaited offtake agreement for its Rocklands project near Cloncurry.
Under the agreement, struck with cornerstone investor China Oceanwide International, CuDeco has secured the sale of a minimum 60 per cent of its total production from Rocklands which is due to be mined from the end of next year.
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The 20-year offtake deal is understood to be worth about $600 million a year to CuDeco.
The Hong Kong-based China Oceanwide also has subscribed for up to $130 million of shares in CuDeco which will eventually bring its interest in the company to 19.9 per cent.
The cash injection is a major financial fillip for CuDeco and douses concerns that funding for its proposed mine would be difficult in current market conditions.
The 19.9 per cent shareholding also offers a barrier for a potential takeover of the company.
CuDeco chairman Wayne McCrae, who is still in China, said yesterday that selling Rocklands to the highest bidder was never part of his plan.
''I've put seven years into this project and I'm going to reap the benefits of it.''
Mr McCrae said while China Oceanwide was willing to debt finance the proposed mine, talks were continuing with financial advisor Azzure Capital to secure the remainder of the $300 million needed to bring it to production.
CuDeco has previously announced enough reserves to produce 3 million tonnes of copper a year over the first 10 years.
However, an updated resource estimate expected soon from the company may yet boost this number.
''This is a major milestone for CuDeco shareholders,'' said Mr McCrae in a statement detailing the offtake agreement.
The colourful mining entrepreneur has been working on the offtake deal for more than three years and is understood to have secured some major concessions.
''This is the fruit of the hard work and is a lesson in sticking to your guns while negotiating,'' he said.
Wilson HTM's Gold Coast boss Fred Witherow said that, on the face of it, yesterday's announcement was a big step towards a mine for Rocklands with funding secured at a premium.
China Oceanwide, a private company with broad international interests, is paying $3.80 a share for the bulk of its initial 14.8 per cent stake in CuDeco.
''To get it away at that price is a pretty good result,'' Mr Witherow said.
Apart from the copper/gold concentrates, China Oceanwide has contracted to also buy the pyrite/cobalt concentrates from Rocklands, expected to total about 200,000 tonnes a year.
CuDeco said this offtake alone was worth about $160 million a year.
