Tag Archives: copper

Stock market: KAZ Minerals, Bank of Georgia

FEB. 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Bank of Georgia’s share price barely budged after it released full year results for 2016 that showed an increase in profit held back by a 10.5% devaluation in the Georgian lari throughout the year.

By Feb. 23, its shares were trading at 2,987p on the London Stock Exchange, its lowest level since the end of January. Analysts said that the poor performance of the lari was holding back the Bank of Georgia share price, confirming just how exposed the bank is to Georgia’s macro-economic performance.

Over at KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan-focused copper producer, it was a more positive, upbeat earnings session.

It said that its revenues had increased in 2016 by 15% to around $766m, because a clutch of new mines had now come on-stream. This appeared to impress the market and pushed up its shares by another 2.6% to 573p on the London Stock Exchange, near a four year high of 589p hit earlier in the month.

Analysts are split on the KAZ Minerals stock. JP Morgan and Credit Suisse kept their neutral rating on the stock while Citigroup reaffirmed its ‘buy’ rating.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)

 

KAZ minerals revenue rises

FEB. 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Revenues at Kazakhstan-focused copper producer KAZ Minerals jumped 43% in 2016 to $969m because of the start-up of production at its Bozshakol copper- gold mine in Kyrgyzstan and the Aktogay open pit copper mine in Kazakhstan. KAZ Minerals is listed on the London Stock Exchange and used to be called Kazakhmys

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)

Georgian Mining raises $3.2m to develop Kvemo Bolnisi

TBILISI, NOV. 16 2016, (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed Georgian Mining Corporation said it raised £2.6m ($3.2m) in a new share offering designed to finance the development of its Kvemo Bolnisi copper and gold mine in the south of Georgia.

Last month, Georgian Mining changed its name from Noricum Gold to reflect the geographic focus of its operations.

After the restructuring and consolidation of ordinary shares, the fresh share issue represents 40% of the total issued shares and will dilute ownership in the company.

Before the placing, businessmen Michael Johnson (6.1%), Martyn Churchouse (5.4%) and Fahad Al- Tamimi (4.9%) were the three largest shareholders.

The company said the new cash will fund development of the Kvemo Bolnisi mine, in which it owns a 50% stake.

“This raise is a significant endorsement of our approach to commence production at low cost and for a minimum capex requirement,” director Greg Kuenzel said in a statement.

Georgia’s Caucasian Mining Group, owned by Russian entrepreneur Dmitri Troitsky, is Georgian Mining’s partner at Kvemo Bolnisi.

Georgian Mining bought its 50% share in Kvemo Bolnisi in July 2015 from GMC Investment for £2.6m ($3.2m). The company started drilling in June, in line with its forecasts. Reserves at the Bolnisi project include 980,000 tonnes of copper, 6.6m ounces of gold and 22m ounces of silver.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 305, published on Nov. 18 2016)

 

Anglo-Asian improves efficiency in Azerbaijan

NOV. 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan-focused Anglo Asian Mining said it had improved cost- efficiency at its gold mining operations in Gedabek, a gold, copper and silver mine in the west of the country. The company has cut per-ounce expenditure to $703 in H1 2016 from $925 in H1 2015.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 303, published on Nov. 4 2016)

Stock market: Central Asia Metals

JULY 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Central Asia Metals, a Kazakhstan-focused copper producer, jumped 5% on Monday after it announced that its Q2 production had increased by 20%, boosting investor confidence. It closed at 156p/share on Thursday.

The company can now boast a 27% growth in production and a 24% increase in sales for H1 2016, compared to the same period last year. Central Asia Metals is expanding its Kounrad project, a copper recovery plant, which should be expanded in H2 2016.

The past six months or so have been a rollercoaster for Central Asia Metals’ share price. It plunged to an 18-month low in January before rebounding back to above 160p/share in March. After a brief period of stability, though, the stock suffered the downward pressure of declining copper prices and spiraled down to around 145p/share.

Analysts said the nature of Central Asia Metals’ production makes it immune from copper price volatility, but, as shown in the graph, both the stock and the commodity have gained 10% since the beginning of the year.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

 

Stock market: Central Asia Metals share price prospects

JUNE 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Analysts in London are positive about copper producer Central Asia Metals, despite its shares hitting 144.5p, the lowest level in four months, on Thursday. It had traded at a high of around 170p.

Canaccord Genuity set a price target of 190p, in line with the majority of analysts who rate it a “buy”.

Central Asia Metals is a Kazakhstan-based copper producer, which had recently seen its share price rise after announcing positive results for 2015 and saying that its ambitious expansion was on schedule. Kenes Rakishev, a powerful Kazakh businessman and son-in-law of defence minister Imangali Tasmagambetov, is Central Asia Metals’ largest shareholder with 19%.

Other shareholders own 10% or less in the company. Mr Rakishev has actively diversified his investment portfolio in recent years buying Kazakhstan’s largest bank, Kazkommertsbank, and acquiring a minority stake in a discount retail chain.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 284, published on June 10 2016)

 

Stock market: Central Asia Metals, KAZ Minerals

MAY 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Copper prices dipped below the psychological threshold of $2/lb in mid January, for the first time since 2009, and it has bit of a roller-coaster ride since.

Shares of Central Asia Metals and KAZ Minerals, two Kazakhstan– focused producers, have followed copper’s ups and downs.

As shown in the graph above, shares in KAZ Minerals, which mines copper in northern and eastern Kazakhstan, have fluctuated more dramatically with copper prices.

Shares in Central Asia Metals, have been more stable.

With copper prices now sliding back towards $2/lb, share prices for both Central Asia Metals and KAZ Minerals are falling. This week, they were down 5.3% and 9% respectively.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 280, published on  May 13 2016)

 

Kazakhstan’s KAZ Minerals improves

APRIL 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – London-listed Kazakh miner KAZ Minerals said it increased production of copper cathode by 12.6% in the first quarter of 2016, to 21,500 tonnes. Copper cathode sales also increased by 4% to $106.5m. Net debt grew by 7.6% to $2.4b on a quarterly basis because of the company’s investments in its two new mines at Bozshakol and Aktogay.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 278, published on  April 29 2016)

 

Kazakhstan copper producer posts 12% drop in revenues

ALMATY, APRIL 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan-focused copper producer Central Asia Metals posted a 12% decline in revenues in 2015, a drop it said was linked to the fall in commodity prices.

Although copper cathode production grew by 8.4% to 12,071 tonnes in 2015, a new high for the company, the average selling price for copper declined by 21%, bringing down earnings.

And with lower copper prices, Central Asian Metals said that the Kazakh government also earned 14% less from the mineral extraction tax it applied to its sales than it did in 2014.

On a more positive note, the company said that it had received permission from the government to expand its 15,000 tonnes/year copper recovery plant at the Kounrad mine.

And it also said that it will maintain its dividend payment, despite the tough market conditions.

Nick Clarke, CEO of Central Asia Metals, said: “While many resource companies are cutting dividends, we are pleased to be able to honour and exceed our dividend policy.”

The total dividend the company will pay for 2015 amounted to 12.5p, the same level as last year.

Stock market: Central Asia Metals

APRIL 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Central Asia Metals continued to rally this week in London, establishing a steady positive trend since an all-time low of 124 pence in mid-January.

Its stock price closed at 171p on Thursday, up over a third for the week.

The company is also preparing for the presentation of the yearly results next Monday, which analysts expect to be positive.

“Central Asia Metals operates at a high margin and is thus less affected by low copper prices,” Martin Potts, mining analyst at FinnCap told The Bulletin. “It is an established business in Kazakhstan and it has already repaid all the money it has raised to its shareholders, something unique in this sector.”

In our chart above, we tracked just how closely Central Asia Metals shares and copper have been linked, but it is also possible to note a recent “decoupling” of the two since mid-March.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 275, published on  April 8 2016)