Nickel - Major Correction, where to next ?

[JBmurc]

buying a gold stock Tricha[] not like you ,what you buy BDG,ODG,SBM
etc

brought into SBM myself at 30.5c the other day, final sold my AVM at 53.5c was with 55% gain for the couple months.

like the look of SBM some great assets maybe even have some nickel on the go soon.

[pago]

hi trish and sid,people need to realise IGO is primarily an explorer,multible interests in other prospects/tenaments/joint ventures.the igo current mining operations are providing the cash for dividends and their exploration.they are cash producing and exploring at the same time which imho rates igo as a low risk,possible breakout,cheers pago.

[tricha]

Yes Pago , IGO a producer and explorer, excellent company, but so is MCR, Producer explorer and cheap!

JBmerc, at least you will be able to sleep at night with AVM gone, great profit.

Took your cue today, researched StBarbara Mines last night and bought in at 29c a few minutes a go, article in this monthes shares on gold and them, looks a great producing gold company!
The other one I bought last week was BMA gold, 19 gms for 327,000 ozs and huge upside, starts producing soon.( articule in Resourse Stocks OCT )

Regards [B)][}]

[tricha]

Time will tell, if so Mincor a steal at 68c
and so will Sally Mallay be

Nickel supply shortfall forecast


By MELODY M. AGUIBA


Inco Ltd. (IL) of Canada, one of the world’s largest nickel producers, is projecting a 50,000-tonne annual nickel shortage arising from China’s huge nickel demand that is prompting the search for more nickel finds.





Nick Sheard, IL vice president for exploration, told reporters during the Asia Pacific Mining Conference that the shortage is foreseen to hound up to 2009.

Four projects are expected to bring nickel production starting 2006. These are Inco’s Voisey’s Bay, 50,000 tonnes, first quarter 2006; Inco’s Goro, 60,000 tonnes; BHP Billiton’s Ravensthorpe, fourth quarter, 2007; and Vermelho, 46,000 tonnes, fourth quarter, 2008.

But production from these projects will not be enough.

"We have projects coming online, but the world still requires an extra 50,000 tons," he said.

"With an assumed four percent long-term nickel demand growth rate, the market needs a ‘Goro-size’ project every year to meet increased demand at that rate. Only a portion of Voisey’s Bay will represent new nickel on the market."

Inco’s Goro has 37.7 million tonnes at 1.5 percent nickel, 0.12 percent cobalt and is one of world’s highest grade and largest leacheable nickel laterite deposits.

Sheard said five years of under-investment due to unrealized expectations from Australian acid leach projects caused tight nickel markets, although projects will begin beefing up nickel supply by 2006.

World nickel demand is taken up largely by Europe, 36 percent followed by other Asian countries, 31 percent; Japan, 15 percent; and US and Canada, 11 percent.

Despite the shortage’s being foreseen only up to 2009, Sheard said exploration companies always look forward to new exploration areas due to the long-term nature of mineral development.

"Exploration is such a long term game. It takes about seven years from discovery to mining," he said. He said IL is also looking at possible exploration project in the Philippines, but declined to comment on the area it is eyeing.

"We think there’s potential in the Philippines. There’s been a lack of exploration in the Philippines, so we still expect a lot of opportunities," he said.

IL is involved locally in two major fabrication yards for Goro. It has made investments needed to assume a leading market position in Asia. This includes those in Inco TNC Ltd (Japan, 1965); Taiwan Nickel Refining Company (1984); Shanghai Sales Office (1004); Korea Nickel Company (1989); and Jinco Non-Ferrous Metals Co. (Kunshun, China, 1997).

IL is in talks with Falcon Bridge for a forthcoming merger which will provide a synergy for the merged company that will make it world’s biggest nickel producer.

"There are synergies in exploration that will be considerable. We’re not exploring copper in South America, they do. They don’t explore in China, we do," he said.

IL has more exploration projects in Goro in New Caledonia and PTI in Indonesia. In July this year, it began mining at Petea, Malaysia which produces about one million tonnes of saprolitic nickel ore per year.

[tricha]

Its a Steel!

North Miitel Shapes Up For Mincor

Redross Nickel Mine


Kambalda nickel producer Mincor Resources NL has reported strong September quarter production figures and said a highlight of the quarter had been the outstanding performance of its new North Miitel ore body.

Mincor said that strike drives completed through the central portion of North Miitel had demonstrated excellent continuity and width as well as nickel grades well above those predicted by the ore reserve model.

The strong early results from North Miitel are a key highlight of Mincor’s September Quarter, together with unexpectedly high grades from the Redross Mine, rising production from the Mariners Mine, and the ongoing drill-out of the new discovery at South Miitel with two diamond rigs currently in action.

Mincor said production for the quarter had been strong, with provisional figures indicating over 3,200 tonnes of nickel metal in concentrate (3,670 tonnes nickel contained in ore) produced and sold.

Mincor discovered the North Miitel ore body through extensional exploration drilling during 2002, and made the decision to develop it in late 2003, committing to a $17 million extension of the decline and associated infrastructure. The first of the two North Miitel ore bodies, the smaller N14, was intersected in March and provided the first hint of what was to come, with better than expected grades, width and size.

Underground development reached the main, much larger, N11 ore body in August, with two strike drives currently underway along the length of that ore body. The lower strike drive, the 421 Level, has now been driven a distance of 170m along the strike of the central portion of the ore body, revealing a wide, continuous, straight and near-vertical ore body consisting of high-grade matrix and good disseminated ore.

“We now have a slice right through the centre of the main North Miitel ore body,” commented Managing Director, David Moore. “As a result, the ‘resource risk’ associated with the new ore body has now largely been eliminated from North Miitel. That alone is worth a cheer, but to discover that the ore body is so much better than expected is a great bonus.”

- 20 Oct 2005

Cheers [B)][}]

[tricha]

Inco ¨C Surplus stainless inventories correcting lower
Source: Dow Jones



See also:
Stainless Steel Board
Stainless Steel CatalogSurplus stainless steel inventories which built in the second quarter of the year have been correcting lower with growth in that sector to resume soon, Inco (N) Chairman and Chief Executive Scott Hand said Tuesday.

"While this situation in the stainless steel industry has had a short-term effect on nickel prices, overall market fundamentals remain strong, and we believe that the end of this inventory correction is in sight," Hand said.

"A number of leading economic indicators remain positive and we expect that, once this stainless steel inventory correction has run its course, stainless steel production growth should resume in late 2005 or early in 2006," he added.

Stainless steel is the principle end-use market for primary nickel.

In a statement accompanying Inco's third quarter results, Hand said the oversupply situation arose as production from a number of new facilities came on stream.

The correction to this oversupply has taken longer to be realized than expected, he noted, with an inventory buildup leading to a rise in London Metal Exchange stocks and a rise in the benchmark cash nickel price from July.

For the third quarter, LME cash nickel averaged $6.61 a pound versus $7.44/lb in the second quarter of 2005. LME cash nickel prices averaged $5.71/lb during the first three weeks of October.

Hand meanwhile said that non-stainless steel markets for nickel continue to show "very favorable growth."

"Demand in non-stainless steel applications such as for aerospace and plating in China continues to be extremely strong," he said.

"Growth in these markets has also been enhanced by increased activity in those end-uses for nickel relating to oil and gas and liquid natural gas exploration and production, and hybrid automobiles," he added.

#9668; Back Back to top ¡ø

[Sid]

IGO's having a good run and is threatening the previous high. Is this a delayed reaction to the McLeay news on the 15th.

MCLEAY NICKEL SULPHIDE DEPOSIT: HIGH-GRADE EXTENSIONS LIKELY TO SIGNIFICANTLY
INCREASE RESOURCE
Key Points:
• Further high-grade nickel intercepts outside reserves/resources returned from McLeay
deposit – still open to the north, south and east.
• Assay results from previously announced visual estimates include hole MDU-041 which
intersected 17m @ 10.7% Ni (including 8.5m @ 16.1% Ni) from Shoot 1.
• Visual estimates of new intersections include:
• 3.1m @ 12% Ni
• 3.3m @ 10% Ni
• 4.2m @ 6% Ni
McLeay resource of 13,000 Ni tonnes (at grade of 6.7% Ni) expected to increase substantially.
Updated resource due for completion in December 2005.

[tricha]

Not just any indicator but a Keith Nielsen indicator Trading halt TYC, interesting to see if Mincor exits their options and David Moore exits CEO, could be an xtra boost for MCR,s coffers and allow David Moore to re focus Mincor,

AFX News Limited
Antofagasta buys 50 pct stake in Tethyan Copper's interests in Pakistan UPDATE
12.23.2005, 05:31 AM

LONDON (AFX) - Antofagasta PLC said it will buy a 50 pct stake in Tethyan Copper Co Ltd's mineral interests in Pakistan and a 19.95 pct interest in Australian-listed Tethyan.

Antofagasta, together with Tethyan, will also terminate BHP Billiton's rights to claw-back a material interest in certain of Tethyan's mineral interests. They will pay Billiton 50 mln usd in compensation.

Antofagasta's total financial commitment under the transaction, including the exploration and development expenditure commitment, is expected to amount to 133 mln usd, it said.

Tethyan's principal assets are a 75 pct interest in the exploration licence encompassing the highly prospective Chagai Hills region of North West Pakistan known as Reko Diq, which includes the Tanjeel Mineral Resource and the Western Porphyries, and a 100 pct interest in certain other licences in the region.

Tethyan has reported total indicated and inferred mineral resource estimates at its properties of 1.2 bln tonnes with a copper grade of 0.58 pct and a gold grade of 0.28 grams per tonne. The resource estimates include probable reserves at the Tanjeel Mineral Resource of 128.8 mln tonnes.

Tethyan is currently subject to an unsolicited takeover offer from Skafell Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Crosby Capital Partners Inc and IB Daiwa Corp. It has unanimously recommended that its shareholders reject the Skafell offer and approve the proposed transaction with Antofagasta.

'Our agreement with Tethyan Copper Co provides Antofagasta with a window into a very prospective mining region and represents a strategic investment opportunity for us,' said Marcelo Awad, chief executive of Antofagasta Minerals SA.

Chilean-based Antofagasta said it continues to look at opportunities globally to secure rights to world-class mining assets.

[JBmurc]

MCR -strong buy at these prices -major selling maybe over now from AMP so much upside with very little risk up 1.5 to 65.5c

[SEC]

Nickel prices up 25% from Nov lows, LME inventories plateauing, and other nickel co's rebounding well, except MCR. Why? Barring undisclosed production problems I can only presume AMP is still selling down - to zero. That's fine by me, it has given me a opportunity to buy a few on the cheap.

I realise reserves are relatively short at ~4 years and about 1/3 of their production is hedged but if MCR can convert their recent resource discoveries to reserves there's plenty of life at Kambalda to well beyond 2010 - and hopefully plenty of life in the share price too.

Consensus PEs for 06, 07 and 08 are 4.5, 3.3 and 5.1. Far too low, even given the reserve issues. Furthermore, those numbers haven't changed since Nov and I note none of the major brokers have changed their eps estimates despite the Ni price recovery. All we need is one of them to update their estimates and the herd will follow.

SEC

Caveat - there's a stop loss if the quarterly report is crap.