Tag Archives: copper

STOCK MARKETS: KAZ Minerals continues to rise

SEPT. 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan-focused copper producer, continues to be the stock of the year from the Central Asia region. It is now surfing at around 875p per share, smashing top end expectations only a couple of months ago of sub-800p.

The copper producer’s previous high had been 811p in 2013 and it started 2017 at 375p/share. The share price has been powered by a job in copper prices and also by better output at its mines. Analysts and traders have been falling over themselves to up their new target prices as KAZ Minerals shows no real sign of stopping its upward trend.

Canada-based gold miner Centerra Gold is another share that has looked good over the past few weeks. In mid-July, it was bumping along at around C$6.63/share. This has now climbed to C$7.49, still below its 2017 peak of C$8.24. Its current valuation has split analysts with most recommending a ‘hold’ but one or two advocate a ‘sell’.
Still, it jumped 8.3% in the period from Aug. 25, the region’s top riser.

On the downside, Georgia Healthcare slid 2.6% to 345.25p. It has dipped significantly since June when is shares were valued at over 400p.

Nostrum Oil & Gas also recorded a fall of 1.2%, to 380p, continuing its steady drop from over 530p in June.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

China considers building $300m smelter in Armenia

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AUG. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia is discussing a potential $300m investment with China to build a copper smelting plant, media quoted Armenian economic development minister Suren Karayan as saying. China has been increasingly busy in pushing its investment portfolio in Armenia. It wants to boost its presence across Central Asia and the South Caucasus as part of its “Belt and Road” trade strategy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Kazakhstan’s KAZ Minerals raises expectations

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AUG. 17 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh miner KAZ Minerals said it was targeting production of 300,000 tonnes of copper in 2018 after a significant boost to output and copper prices in the first half of the year. KAZ Minerals is an open-pit mine and its operations are focused on Kazakhstan. It doubled production in the first half of the year from the same period in 2016.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 340, published on Aug. 20 2017)

Stock market: Georgia Healthcare, KAZ minerals

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JUNE 19 2017 (The Bulletin) — It was a poor week for stocks in companies linked to Central Asia and the South Caucasus. All stocks were either stagnant or fell, with the notably exception of Georgia Healthcare, which is perhaps the standout performer of the year.

By the end of the week, Georgia Healthcare stock had risen by 12% to 394.5p, smashing past its previous all-time high of 373p hit in February.

As for the fallers, the heaviest tumbles were taken by KAZ Minerals and Centerra Gold. KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan focused copper producer, fell 11.4% to 471.5p. This, although it looks bad, was merely a correction to return to trading at a level it has been anchored around for the past month.

Centerra Gold’s shares are volatile. The Canada-based miner whose main asset is the Kumtor gold mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan is locked in a near permanent dogfight with the Kyrgyz government for control of its asset. This week, though, traders said that short-selling had knocked the value of its shares. It finished the week at C$6.72, a fall of over 8%, and its lowest level since the start of March.

Other notably fallers include Nostrum Oil & Gas, which lost around 4.7% of its stock price, more than the fall in oil, and TBC Bank, a Georgian bank, which also shed around 5% of its value, possibly because inflation data remained stubbornly high.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Copper output boost spurs stock rise in Kyrgyzstan

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APRIL 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Shares at Kazakh copper miner KAZ Minerals jumped 5% immediately after Q1 results showed that copper production had nearly doubled from a year earlier. KAZ Minerals, listed on the London Stock Exchange, used to be called Kazakhmys. It is focused on mining low-cost open pit mines.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Stock market: KAZ Minerals, Bank of Georgia

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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

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

KAZ minerals revenue rises

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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

(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

(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

(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

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