Tag Archives: gold

Stock market: Tethys, KAZ Minerals, Centerra

JAN. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tethys shares dropped to their lowest price since listing in 2011, falling 18% over the last week to 1.75p. Our graph shows its fall since the start of December.

Problems at its operations in Tajikistan may have dented investors’ confidence. China’s CNPC and France’s Total, its partners in the Bokhtar oil project, have said they want Tethys to exit the venture.

Last week, also, the Tajik government joined the fray and said it might expropriate 25% of the licensed area, as production hasn’t started yet.

Commodities prices were stable, after months of depreciation against the US dollar. But this has not helped all miners in the region. In fact, Centerra shares fell, due to the ongoing controversy with its Mongolian operations. On the upside, KAZ Minerals continued its upward trend, thanks to the continued depreciation of the Kazakh tenge. Its costs are in tenge. Its earnings in US dollars.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Stock market: Centerra Gold, Central Asia Metals

JAN. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Mining companies in Central Asia had different experiences this week.

In Toronto, Centerra Gold shares fell 6.6% to 7.01 Canadian dollars. The company’s optimistic results published on Jan. 11 gave its shares a short-lived boost at the beginning of the week, but the continuation of the row with the Kyrgyz government may be eroding investors’ confidence.

Kazakhstan-focused Central Asia Metals lost 8.2% in the week, but closed on an upward note at 128.75p on Thursday. Against this trend, KAZ Minerals gained 5% this week, closing at 94.5p.

Oil and gas companies continued to suffer through the lowest oil prices in a decade, now heading below $30/barrel. Tethys Petroleum, which had financial troubles in its operations in Tajikistan, lost 26% in London to close at 2.13p on Thursday. In the past week, Nostrum Oil & Gas shares lost 8.4% to 329.9p. Roxi Petroleum also lost 12.3% to close at 7.13p.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 263, published on Jan. 15 2016)

China strikes Tajik gold

JAN. 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed and Tajikistan-focused China Nonferrous Gold ltd said it produced its first gold from the Pakrut mine. Tajikistan had granted the company a licence to explore the Pakrut mine in 2004.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Stock market: Tethys, Nostrum, Tengri

DEC. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Commodities prices keep declining and the industry continues to worry and use caution. This is reflected in the markets, which show the poor performance of Central Asia and South Caucasus focused firms.

Tethys Petroleum (-6% in the past week), Nostrum Oil & Gas (-5.8%) and Roxi Petroleum (-4%) were hit by oil prices plummeting to around $37/barrel.

Industrial and judicial news affected the performance of several miners in the region.

KAZ Minerals closed at 88.5p on Thursday a 7.7% fall in share prices compared to last week. Centerra Gold lost 11% on the Toronto Stock Exchange, closing at 7.07 Canadian dollars on Thursday.

Generally stable Tengri Resources also fell after it announced it was not going to mine the Taldybulak gold and copper project in Kyrgyzstan. It lost 17.4% in one day to close at 3p per share on Thursday.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Stock market: Tethys Petroleum, Nostrum Oil & Gas

DEC. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Oil prices fell by almost 10% to under $40/barrel this week — its lowest price since 2009. This hit several of the region’s energy companies who were already dealing with a sharp slump in their share prices.

Tethys Petroleum closed at 4.38p on Thursday, down 2.7% in one week. Roxi Petroleum continued to decline, closing at 6.38p on Thursday, down 8.9% on the week. Nostrum Oil & Gas shares lost 3% to close at 369.5p.

Commodity companies were hit by the general downturn in the market and the news of giant miner Anglo American scaling down operations dramatically. Gold prices fell again by 2% this week, hitting $1,067/ounce.

This affected Kazakhstan-focused mining companies such as Central Asia Metals and KAZ Minerals, which lost 8.9% and 3.8% respectively this week. Kyrgyzstan-focused miner Centerra Gold surged 4%in the Toronto Stock Exchange to 7.94 Canadian dollars, against the trend of other companies, perhaps rallying on its positive results in the first three-quarters of the year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 260, published on Dec. 11 2015)

Stock market: KAZ Minerals, Centerra Gold

NOV. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — On the stock markets, KAZ Minerals, formerly called Kazakhmys, was one of the biggest movers.

Its share price rose from 80p to 92p — a two-week high, apparently off the back of news that it will restructure some of its costs.

On the Canada stock market, shares in Centerra Gold recovered from a six-month low of 6.95 Canadian dollars after its core asset, the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan announced better-than-expected results.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 257, published on Nov. 20 2015)

Stock market: Roxi Petroleum, KAZ Minerals

NOV. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Stock markets saw commodities-focused companies lose terrain this week, despite a brief surge in oil prices above $50/barrel on Tuesday.

Kazakhstan-focused oil company Roxi Petroleum lost 16% in one week closing at 7.88p, perhaps driven down by technical issues slowing down its drilling operations at the BNG contract area in the western part of the country.

After peaking at 122.4p on Tuesday, mining company KAZ Minerals shares were down 8.5% to 105.7p on Friday. KAZ Minerals used to be called Kazakhmys.

In Toronto, Centerra Gold shares lost 3.5% to 7.15 Canadian dollars, continuing a 3-week slump following debates on the formation of a new government in Kyrgyzstan. The Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan is Centerra’s main asset and the company is a major taxpayer in the country. Centerra has said, though, that production at Centerra would be down this year on earlier forecasts.

A new government has now been formed in Kyrgyzstan, hopefully giving Centerra a stable partner to work with.

Shares in Bank of Georgia were down 4.5% to £19.11 on Friday.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Stock market: Centerra Gold, KAZ Minerals

OCT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The US Federal Reserve Bank’s hinted that interest rates could be increased in December, hitting stock markets worldwide. South Caucasus- and Central Asia-related shares were no exception.

Miners were hit badly. Kyrgyzstan- focused Centerra Gold saw its shares lose over 9% in Toronto this week, closing at 7.36 Canadian dollars on Friday.

KAZ Minerals shares were also down 9%, closing at 116p on Friday.

After announcing it would pay a dividend to its shareholders on Oct. 30, Central Asia Metals reversed a slow start and closed on Friday, with a marginal positive growth, at 163p/share in London.

Oil and gas producers also suffered, despite oil prices gaining 2% this week with Brent crude closing at $49.5/barrel. Kazakhstan-focused Tethys Petroleum and Nostrum Oil & Gas both lost around 10% this week.

After reaching an 8-month high at £21.35/share last Friday, London-listed Bank of Georgia fell by 6.5% to £20.00. Last week its shares rallied after a healthcare group it holds a large stake in announced an IPO price range that valued the company at around $500m.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Stock market: Nostrum, Tethys, KAZ Minerals

OCT. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Oil companies suffered from a fall in oil prices this week. The Brent index closed at $48/barrel on Friday, down 5% this week.

Nostrum Oil & Gas lost around 9% this week, recovering on Friday to end at 475p per share in London. Nostrum’s summer objective Tethys Petroleum continued its slump, reaching the lowest level in 2015 on Oct. 22, trading at 0.06 Canadian dollars per share in Toronto on Thursday, rebounding slightly to 0.07 Canadian dollars on Friday. Kazakhstan-focused Roxi Petroleum gained 2%, after it issued new shares earlier in October. Roxi closed at 9.63p on Friday.

Last week, the price of copper fell by 2% before recovering to $2.40 per lb. Britain-based miner KAZ Minerals was hit by the market crunch this week and recorded a 7% loss, closing at 127p in London on Friday.

The upside was represented by Centerra Gold, whose shares gained almost 9% despite slower gold production in Kyrgyzstan. The final price in Toronto was 8.28 Canadian dollars.

In the banking sector, Bank of Georgia rose by almost 7% this week to 214p. The stability of the lari currency kept the market optimistic.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 253, published on Oct. 23 2015)

Stock market: KAZ Minerals, Nostrum Oil & Gas

SEPT. 18-24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — KAZ Minerals shares, now trading at 101 pence, lost over 30% in one week, a fall sharper than the one it suffered last January, when it dropped by more than 25% in one day. Questions on China’s demand

for copper worried investors. Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas downgraded KAZ Minerals and reviewed downwards its target price. Goldman Sachs said there could be a potential upside on Friday and next week.

Nostrum Oil & Gas dropped a further 4% to 481 pence (Sept. 25), although an agreement with Tethys Petroleum seems closer after a company statement said the latest Nostrum offer priced each Tethys share at 0.147 Canadian dollars (Sept. 23).

Azerbaijan-based miner Anglo- Asian Mining gained 13% to 5.38 pence this week, after it published a promising H1 2015 report.

Kazakhstan-focused Roxi Petroleum continued its oil price linked slump, dropping by 4.3% to 8.5 pence this week in London.

In the GDR markets, Kazmunaigas E&P lost almost 20% this week, trading at $6.47 onFriday, almost certainly linked to Kazakhstan’s weak prospects in terms of oil production. Kcell fell by 13.4% finishing the week at $5.35 after TeliaSonera announced last week it would leave its Eurasian markets. TeliaSonera owns 62% of Kcell.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)