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Aufi... kaufen!!! ++++++++++++++++ HudBay stock boosted by Lalor Lake zinc results Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:17pm EDT By Susan Taylor OTTAWA, Oct 24 (Reuters) - HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) shares shot up as much as 10 percent on Wednesday after the mid-tier miner announced a "significant" new zinc discovery at its Lalor Lake property in the western Canadian province of Manitoba. Recent drilling results showed a potential deposit of 18 million to 20 million tonnes, with zinc mineralization of 7.7 percent to 8.8 percent, HudBay said late on Tuesday. "This is a great zinc deposit -- it's close to infrastructure, very close to an existing concentrator that has capacity, it's very close to ... a mining community," Chief Executive Peter Jones said in an interview. "The company will become a very significant player as far as zinc production is concerned." HudBay plans to push hard to fast track the discovery, increasing its drilling to try to develop a resource estimate within six months. A feasibility study will follow soon after, and if there are no complications, production could start within about three years, Jones said. The cash-rich company, which closed its second quarter with more than C$500 million ($515 million) in cash, has earmarked C$45 million for its 2007 exploration budget and had spent C$20.5 million by the end of June. While Lalor Lake is not HudBay's biggest discovery, it ranks high among recent finds, notably the 777 mine, where reserve and resource estimates increased to 20 million tonnes of zinc from an initial 14 million to 15 million tonnes. "We believe this is a major discovery, which is getting bigger and more important to the company," said Dundee Securities analyst Mike Collison. "We see this as very positive news and are raising our rating on HudBay to 'market outperform, high risk' from our previous 'market neutral'." The deposit is about 15 km (9 miles) from the company's Snow Lake concentrator, which has excess capacity, and 3 km from both roads and power. It will cost about C$150 million to develop the mine, Jones said, repeating that such estimates are very preliminary. The first drilling results, which showed potential for a high-grade zinc deposit, were announced in August. The company expects production of 1 million tonnes of ore annually, generating between 80,000 and 100,000 tonnes of zinc metal contained, Jones said. Due to initial strong results at Lalor Lake, HudBay will decide by year's end if it still wants to proceed with its significantly smaller Bur Lake zinc project. Prices for zinc (MZN3: Quote, Profile, Research), used as an anti-corrosive in the construction and auto industries, peaked at $4,600 a tonne last November, but have since dipped below $3,000 a tonne. The big discovery "validates" HudBay's organic growth strategy, but Jones said the company is always considering acquisitions. But such deals are expensive because of high valuations, making "truly good opportunities" tough to find. "It's fair to say we've got two or three opportunities in our shop at any point in time," he said. "We are particularly focused on zinc, copper, and potentially nickel... We would prefer North America, but we're not locked into it." HudBay operates mines, concentrators and a metal production facility in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It also owns a zinc oxide production plant in Ontario, the White Pine copper refinery in Michigan, and Balmat zinc mine operations in New York state. HudBay stock rose as high as C$27.74 on the Toronto Stock early on Wednesday before edging back to C$26.65, for a gain of 6 percent, or C$1.51. |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Blei/Zink/Silber-XXL-Resourcen : Hudbay minreals |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | Plotin (24.10.07 21:25:58) |
| Beitrag: | 10 von 142 (ID:32140104) |
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