Copper

[johnsyn]

Record $8.5 billion likely spent in 2011 exploring for gold
Frik Els | September 18, 2011
Research firm Metals Economics Group reports gold continues to be top exploration target accounting for more than 50% of global exploration of non-ferrous metals for the second consecutive year in 2011. Latin America is set continue to be the industry’s favorite regional exploration destination in 2011, while Canada will remain the top overall country.

Copper will account for roughly a fifth of 2011 nonferrous exploration budgets that is expected to exceed US$17 billion for expenditures related to precious and base metals, diamonds, uranium, and some industrial minerals. It represents an increase of about 50% from the 2010 total and a new all time high.Budgets for grassroots, late-stage, and mine site exploration have all increased significantly, but the relative proportions allocated to each stage of development are expected to remain relatively stable compared with 2010. Despite a sharp rise in the amount of money planned for grassroots work in 2011, the proportion of the overall industry exploration effort committed to long-term project generation is anticipated to remain near historically low levels—about a third of 2011’s exploration total compared with an average of about half the annual exploration totals through the 1990s.

MEG’s analysis is based on information collected from more than 3,500 companies worldwide, of which about 2,400 are expected to have active exploration programs and will therefore be included in the final study

Last year the 21st edition of Corporate Exploration Strategies (CES) reported a 2010 exploration budget total of $11.2 billion. The industry restored almost two thirds of the $5.5 billion that was cut from exploration in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis. The speed and the strength of the 2010 rebound were a welcome surprise to many, given the severity of the downturn and widespread forecasts of a deep and protracted recession.

Regionally, Latin America (led by Mexico, Peru, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina) was the top exploration destination in 2010—a position it has held for the better part of two decades—while Canada was the top country overall. Gold was the leading target, attracting more than half the global exploration budget total, with copper a distant second. When uranium allocations are added to the $11.2 billion nonferrous total, 2010 planned exploration spending rises to more than $12.1 billion, a 44% increase from the 2009 total including uranium. MINING.COM

[Entangled Proton]

Kitco intra day spot price

[tdbowieknife]

Have you guys heard of Polymet Mining (PLM) and Duluth Metals(DULMF)

Polymet is almost done with a SDEIS and Duluth Metals is just starting the permit process.

You can invest in copper right here in the Minnesota Duluth Complex. It is the largest undeveloped known copper deposit in the world.

http://www.polymetmining.com/index.php

http://www.duluthmetals.com/s/Home.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duluth_Complex

[johnsyn]

Chinese copper demand to surge by 40pct by 2015
291 times viewed. Saturday, 17 Sep 2011Reuters quoted an official from the China NonFerrous Metals Industry Association as saying that China's apparent consumption of refined copper will rise by nearly 40% to 8.5 million tonnes per year by 2015.

Mr Zhao Bo director of the association's copper department said that "Despite the prospect of a slowdown for major economies around the world, we believe real demand for copper in China will remain strong as the domestic economy continues to develop.

Mr Bo said that the country's current refined copper demand was 6.2 million tonnes. The government will continue to modernize rural areas, which will increase demand for all sorts of electrical household appliances. Refined copper smelting capacity was expected reach 6.5 million tonnes per year in 2015 from about 4.8 million tonnes this year.

He added that the shortfall between real demand for refined copper and the country's total smelting capacity would in turn widen the need for copper imports.

(Sourced from Reuters)

[johnsyn]

Copper market getting tighter and tighter: Commerzbank
COPPER MINING NEWS DIGEST
Copper supplies are getting tighter on higher Chinese imports and copper mine strikes around the world. Decreased availability of high quality ore is also expected to support copper prices.

“Copper is getting tighter and tighter due to supply problems. Not only strikes but also lower ore grades are cutting production, especially in Chile and Peru” said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann, Reuters reported.

-Data showed that China’s copper imports rose by 8.8% in July. And imports are expected to rise further after the inventories are tapped into and China starts restocking.

-The Copper mine strike at Escondida had caused a 14% in copper production. Possibilities of more strikes around the world especially in Chile (Collahuasi) and Indonesia remain very high.

-Peru’s government is considering increasing mining royalties. This would discourage new investments in this area.

“Recent economic data suggests that global growth could stabilize. Moreover China is starting to import more again. This should Lead to further price gains”, said a Credit Suisse note.

At the London Metal Exchange (LME), copper prices have traded in a range of around $10000 to $8500 for 2011. – Source: http://www.commodityonline.com/

[sumisu]

Good post; China's tremendous growth is affecting the prices of all natural resources and this is just the beginning.

sumi

[johnsyn]

Copper may see shortage for third yearCopper will remain in short supply for a third straight year in 2012 as China-led demand boosts prices, Japan’s top producer said.

Demand will likely exceed supply by 495,000 metric tons in 2011, the biggest deficit since 2004, compared with 214,000 tons last year, said Akira Miura, executive officer of the marketing and raw-material department at Pan Pacific Copper Co., Japan’s biggest producer. The shortage may shrink to 31,000 tons in 2012, he said.

Copper, used in wires and pipes, has climbed 18 percent in the past year, reaching a record $10,190 a ton in February, as the global economy recovers from its worst recession since World War II. Higher prices benefit major producers such as BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) andFreeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) The metal is favored by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. because of its “superb supply-demand fundamentals.”

“Even though the market deficit will decline sharply, tightness will continue because of a lower stockpile-to-use ratio,” Miura said in an interview on Sept. 1. The global- inventory ratio may decline to a 1.3-month level in 2012 from an estimated 1.4 this year and 2010’s 1.8, he said.

Global output may increase 1.7 percent to 19.5 million tons in 2011 and 6.2 percent to 20.7 million tons in 2012 with new smelting capacity in China, Miura said. Demand may grow 3.1 percent to 20 million tons this year and 3.8 percent to 20.7 million tons in 2012, he said.

Supply Disruptions
“Copper-supply disruptions will amount to at least 8 percent of total production loss this year, compared to 4 percent to 5 percent we had expected earlier in the year,” Goldman analysts Sal Tharani and Sandeep SM said in a report dated Aug. 31.

“Chinese warehouses have significantly depleted their copper stocks, and opening of positive arbitrage between the China and London Metal Exchange prices could mean increase in copper imports into China,” the analysts wrote. Demand for industrial metals will remain “fairly healthy, driven by emerging markets,” they said.

Demand in China, the biggest consumer, may increase 4.9 percent to 7.5 million tons this year and 6 percent to almost 8 million tons in 2012, Miura said. Output is likely to grow 7 percent to 4.9 million tons this year and 13 percent to 5.5 million tons in 2012, he said.

‘10,000 A Ton’
Any supply disruption will push prices higher in coming months as Chinese demand picks up after reducing domestic stockpiles and the government may not further tighten its monetary policy, he said. Demand in Japan may increase moderately to rebuild after the March 11 earthquake, he said.

“We may see copper prices testing the $10,000-a-ton level again this year,” Miura said. Copper for three-month delivery in London rose as much as 0.4 percent to $9,112.75 a ton before trading at $9,070 at 11:34 a.m. in Tokyo.

China’s demand in the first half was “stronger than it appeared,” Macquarie Group Ltd. said. Real consumption counting scrap was up 7 percent in the first half, in contrast with the reported drop of about 7 percent in refined copper demand for the first seven months this year, Macquarie analyst Bonnie Liu wrote in a report dated today.

‘Sustained Strength’
Liu cited “strong output of copper-containing finished goods like air conditioners and electric power cables, and sustained strength in Chinese construction activity.” Real consumption this year will climb 6.3 percent, down from almost 11 percent last year, with stockpiles at reported and unreported warehouses falling by 270,000 tons after an increase in 135,000 tons in 2010, she wrote.

In Japan, production may drop 12.8 percent to 1.35 million tons this year before gaining 13.2 percent to 1.53 million tons in 2012, he said. Demand may decline 3.9 percent to 1.02 million tons in 2011 before growing 2.9 percent to 1.05 million tons next year, he said.

Japan’s exports of copper may drop 12.4 percent to 430,000 tons in 2011, while its imports will likely more than double to 100,000 tons, the highest level since 2007, he said. The country’s imports may plunge 60 percent to 40,000 tons in 2012, while its exports may rise 20.5 percent to 518,000 tons. – Bloomberg
CHINA BUSINESS NEWS

[NYBob]

Caledonia Mining Corp.'s drills are turning at Nama Great Copper
and Cobalt Project Nama Group of Licences, Zambia -

Exploration activities by Caledonia at Nama during 2010
resulted in the definition of two resource target areas
("Konkola East" and "Kafwira") characterized as belonging to
the Ore Shale-hosted copper-cobalt style of mineralization.

These targets will be investigated further during the 2011
exploration field season, including a drilling program of
diamond drill-holes to confirm the existence of Copperbelt
stratigraphy within the two target areas.

Drilling of the first of four holes at the Konkola East target

area commenced in early March 2011 and the results of this

program are expected to be received in mid-2011.



http://www.caledoniamining.com/nam1.php

- - - -

E.g.,,,,
China, Zambia Sign a $600 Million Copper Waste Pact
(Bloomberg)
Updated: 2010-04-14 09:38
Counter:264

China Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. and Zambia Copper Mines Investment Holdings signed an agreement to extract copper from mine waste at the African nation's Mufulira tailings dam project.


The Chinese company may invest as much as $600 million in the project, situated north of the capital, Lusaka, Luo Tao, chairman of the Chinese company, said yesterday. The investment depends on feasibility studies to be conducted at a cost of about $5 million, he said.


Zambia is Africa's largest copper producer. The nation's output of the metal rose from 576,400 metric tons in 2008 to 667,173 tons last year, according to Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale. Zambia is targeting copper production of 1 million tons within the next five years, the minister has said.

- - - -

CAL's Blanket Gold Mines commenced the production ramp-up to
the targeted annualized rate of 60,000 ounces of gold
by the end of 2011

http://www.caledoniamining.com/pdfs/01242011.pdf

http://www.caledoniamining.com/blanket.php

http://www.caledoniamining.com/rooi1.php

http://www.caledoniamining.com/nam1.php

http://www.caledoniamining.com/



http://www.marketbust.com/2011/05/update-on-caledonia-mining-corporation.html

CALVF Blanket Gold Mine Production Au 40,000 oz/year

CALVF Au bargain play dd....

http://www.caledoniamining.com

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=5294

Caledonia Mining Corporation (TSE:CAL)(NASDAQ:CALVF)
Caledonia is listed on the Toronto and London (AIM) stock exchanges.

[mikembte2005]

Its time for copper to move like gold and silver has. Still holding over the $4.00 however.

[glen hoover]

John O' Hurley, the actor just appeared on Bloomberg TV and was very bullish on copper and China's need for it in its infrastructure. He is the spokesperson for Copper King Mining (cprk)

[mlkrborn]

Is this the one you are holding? Any other copper investment vehicles?
tia

[sumisu]

>Copper continues up.

I let the following get by me!



I once had a double in Chariot Resources. But I've been lately reducing my participation in penny stocks.

Chariot is way overbought at this time.

sumi

[mlkrborn]

Sumisu
COPPER'S price recent gradual increase is due to china's hoarding it seems.. Still a ton's price is half of 8000 at peak..What are investment instruments in copper for long term investor?
tia

[sumisu]

China's spending spree likely to include Canadian companies

By Duncan Mavin, Financial Post

March 5, 2009

http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=1352443&sponsor=


Labourers work at a pump jack in the PetroChina's Karamay oil field in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region. Chinese resource spending spree is expected to accelerate throughout the next 12 months, with Canadian mining and energy companies likely on the shopping list.
Photograph by: Reuters, Reuters

HONG KONG — Asia’s dealmakers say a Chinese resource spending spree will accelerate throughout the next 12 months, with Canadian mining and energy companies likely on the shopping list.

Chinese buyers have already scooped up US$70-billion worth of global resource assets so far this year, as Beijing looks to secure its energy and resource future by spending some of its US$2-trillion in foreign exchange reserves.

The overseas buying trend will pick up steam in the months ahead, according to China and Hong Kong-based corporate dealmakers, investment bankers and private equity players surveyed by Royal Bank of Scotland and Mergermarket.

The report comes as expectations soar Beijing will deliver another stimulus package on Wednesday to add to the 4-trilion yuan (US$586-billion) in spending announced late last year. Further stimulus measures will be announced at the National People’s Congress — the climax of the country’s political calendar that features 3,000 delegates from across the country — according to government officials quoted in Chinese state media. Reuters reported, citing an unidentified official at the country’s top economic planning agency, that China will spend more on infrastructure and to boost manufacturing in addition to the stimulus package announced in November.

Details of Beijing’s previously announced spending plans are still sketchy although much of it is directed toward resource-intensive infrastructure projects in the transport and energy sectors.

With the backing of Beijing, cash-rich Chinese investors have spent the past several weeks working on a spate of overseas resource deals. Buoyed by a relatively strong yuan exchange rate, Chinese buyers have taken advantage of depressed commodity prices to pursue overseas assets with vigour. The deals announced so far include a US$19.5-billion bid by state-owned metals company Aluminium Corp of China for a 18% stake in Australia’s Rio Tinto Group, a U$25-billion loan to Russian oil company Rosneft, and a US$10-billion loan to Petrobras of Brazil. Chinese investors have also agreed to plough billions more into Australian and Mongolian iron ore mining companies, gas and pipeline deals in Turkmenistan, and Kazhakstan’s copper and lead mining industry. Late last month China National Petroleum Corp launched a friendly $443-million offer for Calgary-based Verenex Energy Inc. to give the state-owned oil company a stake in a promising Libyan oil concession.

The buying spree will pick up pace this year and reach into more countries, including Canada, said Richard Griffiths, a managing director with Royal Bank of Scotland’s M&A team in Hong Kong.“There is a longer term highly positive trend supporting outbound China M&A in that China has the cash, needs to gain more reliable access to resources and diversify its economy,” Mr. Griffiths said.

So far, a large portion of China’s spending has been direct toward Australia, whose government has shown “an open attitude” to Chinese investment, said the RBS banker. But, as the number of available Australian targets shrinks, “low valuations elsewhere will likely move the focus to North America, particularly resource-rich Canada,” he added.

Almost 40% of the dealmakers surveyed by RBS said the Chinese will target North American assets this year. Deals valued at under US$500-million will likely make up the bulk of China’s overseas investments, the survey respondents said.

Canadian resource companies that have taken on very high debt at the peak of the market and which now are struggling are candidates to receive funds from China, said Ken Courtis, an Asia-based investment banker and analyst. “The recent spate of resource deals is a way for China to diversify very quietly some of its foreign exchange reserves,” he added.

[sumisu]

ANALYSIS - Recession fight may lift commods more than economy

Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:57pm IST

By John Parry and Barani Krishnan

http://in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-38466520090312?sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Massive government debt issuance to fight the worst recession in many decades may push commodity prices higher without boosting industrial output.

This stagflation scenario, feared by some economists, is not on the horizon yet. Since 2009 began, macroeconomic data suggests the industrialized world is experiencing zero inflation, even deflation, from falling prices of energy, cars, houses, stocks and non-government bonds.

But as central banks and governments print vast quantities of currencies to pay their way out of the downturn, the huge expansion of money supply may well stoke a major upsurge in inflation by early as 2010 as speculators rush back into commodity markets, economists caution.

Analysts expect U.S. Treasury debt issuance to hit $2.5 trillion this year alone, threatening to inundate the $6 trillion government debt market.

If speculators fuel a surge in commodity futures prices, this would make raw materials more expensive for industries already struggling with slow sales in a recession. It would also erode wealth for investors in bonds and fixed income products.

"The best bet is that we are going to experience some uncomfortable inflation in 2010 and 2011," said Bill Tedford, director of fixed income strategy at Stephens Capital Management in Little Rock, Arkansas.

He said the ultimate danger would be stagflation: a toxic combination of a stagnant or shrinking economy against a backdrop of rising prices.

"This would imply higher commodity prices without a corresponding rise in industrial activity," Tedford said.

A study of U.S. recession cycles shows commodity markets largely following the trend in equities and other global markets during periods of severe cash crunch.

The Reuters Jefferies-CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, did not show any remarkable climb during the recession of the early 1990s, caused by a surge in industrial production and manufacturing trade sales.

The index was also tame during the contraction that followed the bursting of the dotcom bubble, the Sept 2001 attacks against the United States and the Enron scandal.

The only recession periods when the RJ/CRB index spiked was during the 1973-75 and 1980-82 years, when the downturns were sparked by an escalation in oil prices.

Economists fear that record high prices of oil, metals and grains could prevent an economic recovery.

"With a ballooning money supply, stagnation with high inflation would be a more-significant risk," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland, Ohio.

"By definition, inflation is a 'generalized' rise in the price level, but actual price increases should be most intense for items in short supply and weakest for items where there is ample supply. Energy and other commodities were in short supply as the economy grew over the last year or so, and we think that will probably continue as world growth recovers," McCain said.

Crude oil prices have slumped to below $50 a barrel from a record high above $147 last summer as consumer demand tumbled.

Theresa Gusman, global head of commodities at DB Advisors, Deutsche Bank's institutional asset management business, said oil may go over $147 in coming years as the economy rebounds.

"I'm not saying that's going to happen in the next two years, but over time we will exceed that level," she said.

George M. Constantinides, Leo Melamed Professor of Finance at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, concurs.

"Something drastic will have to happen with these low prices of oil because most oil-producing countries make their budgets on the assumption of oil prices being at least at $65," Constantinides said. "If this goes on, some of those countries may go bankrupt, and that will force the price back up."

If commodities soar again while the economy declines, there will be little recourse for central banks. For instance, the U.S. Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to practically zero and boosted money supply to fill stimulus packages meant to rescue teetering financial institutions and securities markets.

"I am sure that the Fed intends to reverse this stimulus before it causes inflation but, in this weak economic environment, I don't see how they can do that without prematurely forcing rates higher and thus further crippling the economy," said Stephens Capital's Tedford.



© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights

[sumisu]

China is "stockpiling" all commodities cheaply using our Walmart dollars. I would do the same.

I used the word "stockpiling" as I believe that the world will be going into another Great Depression.

Long term, the world will always need copper, but we will first go through hard times, imo.

sumisu

[robsrdd]

Copper rose 4.1% in early trading, following stories that China is stockpiling the metal. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602013&sid=amkyF.r_PfEM&refer=commodity_futures) The Stock Research Portal comments: “I think it likely that a good part of the massive amount of U.S. paper held by China may find its way into China’s infrastructure development. If that occurs it will create demand for copper and other base metals.”

Via Stock Research Portal (http://www.stockresearchportal.com)

How long do you expect them to continue with copper investments?

[mlkrborn]

Commodities: Nice move up after China's stimulus program.

[sumisu]

Copper leaps 3 per cent on China

MICHAEL TAYLOR

Reuters

December 15, 2008 at 7:09 AM EST

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081215.wbasemetals1215/BNStory/energy/home

LONDON — Copper rose more than 3 per cent before easing back on Monday, buoyed by optimism over the Chinese economy and a weaker dollar.

However, rising inventories fuelled fears of over supply.

China's State Council announced at the weekend a series of measures, including a 17 per cent increase in broader money supply, aimed at driving up growth. It follows a near $600-billion (U.S.) stimulus package announced last month.

The broadly weaker U.S. dollar and rising equity markets also helped give industrial metals a lift.

By 1033 GMT, copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange advanced to $3,200 from $3,175 at the close on Friday and compared with a session high at $3,280.

On Friday, copper slipped 4 per cent after U.S. lawmakers failed to agree on a plan to rescue carmakers.

Prices of the metal used in power and construction have fallen about 65 per cent since a record high of $8,940 in July.

“(China) is for the longer term ... it's positive,” said Robin Bhar, senior metals analyst at Calyon. “It may not lift these things out of their doom and gloom straight away but it's positive.”

“Essentially (metals are) marking time,” added Mr. Bhar. “We might edge higher for the rest of the week because it's the last full trading week for the year.”

LME stocks jumped 8,000 tonnes to 314,825 tonnes, its highest point since February 2004, a reminder of copper's weakened state of demand.

More negative news came in the form of Chinese industrial output growth, which slowed to 5.4 per cent in November, the slowest in nine years and well short of forecasts of 7.1 per cent rise.

Adding to the underlying negative sentiment, output in Australia is seen falling short of earlier forecasts.

“The economic picture isn't (looking too great),” said Max Layton, an analyst at Macquarie Bank. “But the prices have fallen so dramatically that for most of the commodities, it only looks like 10-15 per cent more downside from here before they start to reach similar kinds of levels as in previous economic downturns.”

“That doesn't mean they can't touch that level and then average around these levels through the first half of next year.”

Aluminum hit $1,540 and was last at $1,510 from $1,498 on Friday. The metal used in transport and packaging has come under pressure in recent weeks on negative data from the slowing auto industry.

Highlighting its uncertainty, aluminum stocks rose 13,575 tonnes to 1.932 million tonnes, its highest level since November 1994.

Nickel was at $10,375 from $10,650 at the close on Friday, while lead was at $1,050 from $1,018 and zinc at $1,097 from $1,065.

“Short-covering should take these things to challenge the recent highs in the last few weeks, but I wouldn't get carried away because this is not the reversal of the bear market – it's a correction within the overall downtrend,” said Calyon's Mr. Bhar.

Tin rose to $11,550 versus $11,400.

On the data front this week, investors will look to U.S. industrial output figures due later in the day, a likely interest rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the results of OPEC's Dec. 17 meeting where it is expected to cut output for a third time to shore up prices.

[sumisu]

Copper ticks up, but uncertainty weighs on sentiment

Business Spectator

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/UPDATE-6-Copper-ticks-up-but-uncertainty-weighs-on-JSL74?OpenDocument

LONDON -- Copper has eked out gains in choppy trade, but uncertainty surrounding the US government's proposed financial market bailout plan left investors sidelined.

Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange was untraded in the official rings but was quoted at $US6,990/6,995 per tonne, up $US10 from Tuesday, when the metal, used widely in power and construction slipped four per cent.

"It's really a no-man's land -- everything's going to be in limbo until it's clear how the US Congress will react to the Paulson rescue plan," Gary Mead, senior commodities analyst at Virtual Metals, said.

On Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged Congress not to delay approval for the planned $US700 billion bailout of the financial system which Mead expects could boost commodities across the board.

The US dollar fell against a basket of currencies, nagged by uncertainty surrounding the plan to mop up toxic mortgage debt.

A weaker US currency makes commodities priced in dollars cheaper for holders of other currencies.

But analysts said news that corporate sentiment in Germany, Europe's largest economy, deteriorated for the fourth month running, along with weakening data from other economies, would weigh on industrial metals.

GFMS Managing Director Neil Buxton said the weak fundamentals which have pressured industrial metals in recent months continued to reinforce a picture of weak demand.

"Any correction we have seen is merely an upward blip in a downtrend," he said.

London copper has fallen about 20 per cent compared to its record high of $US8,940 per tonne hit in April, as lack of demand from China, coupled with global financial market turmoil have prompted investors to dump their positions.

"Supply disruptions which have helped support the market earlier this year, take a back seat in the current environment and the market will rightly focus on that demand has weakened and is likely to remain weak for the rest of the year."

Stock moves

Sentiment got a boost from another drawdown in copper stocks which fell nearly 9,000 tonnes this week, mostly as material left warehouses in Korea, likely bound for China, suggesting a pick-up in demand in the world's largest consumer of the metal.

But a 1,275-tonne rise in aluminium stocks to 1.36 million -- their highest level since March 2004 and enough for about 13 days of world consumption -- weighed on the metal.

"Right now everyone is talking about supply overhang, so we will not see a support to prices tomorrow or the day after," said Commerzbank analyst Barbara Lambrecht.

"In the medium term, we think of higher aluminium prices -- they are now very close to production costs so there might be close downs of smelters."

Aluminium, used in transport, packaging and power, was trading $US4.50 higher at $US2,512.50 per tonne, after dropping to $US2,505 in earlier trade.

Lead was up $US19 at $US2,019, after hitting a high of $US2,080 in earlier trade, its highest since August 28.

Tin was untraded, but was last quoted at $US17,550/17,600 per tonne from $US17,400 at close on Tuesday and nickel was quoted at $US17,025/17,050 from $US17,200.

Zinc was last quoted at $US1,791/1,792 from Tuesday's $US1,770.

[pplatte9]

El Nino Resumes Drilling for High Grade Copper in DRC

By James West

The rainy season is drawing to a close in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and that means its time to get the drills turning again on El Nino Ventures' (TSX.V:ELN) 350 square kilometer concession.

According to Jean Luc Roy, CEO of El Nino:, "Based upon the interpretation of our recently completed airborne geophysical survey, we believe we may be on the edge of a mineralized system which extends for over 2.8 kms in strike length. We will drill test the extent of this anomaly starting in April. We have also identified four other geophysical anomalies on our other permits which will be tested in the forthcoming drill program."

The DRC Copperbelt hosts multiple world class deposits and the exploration potential is considered one of the best in the world.

For example, one June 12, 2007 Anvil Mining Limited (TSX:ABM) based in Montréal Canada announced intersections of 10.9% copper over 21 m, 8.9% copper over 36 m, and 8.6% copper over 31 m.

The Katanga province of the DRC has more than 10% of the world's copper and many of the world's best deposits. All of Anvil's copper projects and operations are based on resources with average grades of more than 4% copper.

As a result of the recent work on the Kinsevere project, Anvil has established the following Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimate for the combined Stage I and II pits as at April 30, 2007.

Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve mined in Stage I is estimated at 3,726,000 tonnes, of which 917,000 tonnes will be processed through the Stage I plant (Heavy Media Separation ("HMS") and Electric-Arc Furnace ("EAF")), with the remaining ore being stockpiled for later processing through the Stage II plant (SXEW).

The Kinsevere Mineral Resource estimates as at December 31, 2006, which appeared in Anvil's April 23, 2007 news release, are as shown below:

Tiger resource is an Australian-based mining company, recently announced an intersection of 122 m grading 7% copper.

These companies both trade at substantially higher levels than does El Niño. In fact Anvil Mining recently announced a $201 million bought deal financing.

The DRC Copperbelt hosts multiple world class deposits and the exploration potential is considered one of the best in the world. Major mining companies such as Phelps Dodge and First Quantum Minerals are now in construction on world class ore bodies. Several junior companies are now actively exploring for copper and other minerals in the DRC..

Under the terms of the Agreement El Niño purchased a 70 percent interest in the Joint Venture with an option to acquire up to 90 percent of the project by coming to an agreement with our partners, over time. An initial cash payment of $250,000 USD will be made when all regulatory approvals have been received and upon titles of the properties being transferred to the new SPRL Congolese Company that is now being formed.

Additional cash payments totaling $300,000 USD will be made in three annual installments. 300,000 shares of El Niño will initially be issued to GCP Group upon regulatory approval and 400,000 additional shares will be issued over a three year period to the GCP Group. El Niño will fund all exploration work but will retain the services of the CGP Group in an agreement to be negotiated at a later date to support administrative and logistical aspects of the project.

El Nino recently appointed Allan Lines as Exploration Manager for the company's DRC operations.

Mr. Lines has worked in the mineral exploration industry for the past 13 years, exploring for VMS base metals in eastern Canada, greenstone gold exploration in West Africa and, for the past several years has been managing exploration programs in the DRC Copperbelt for a TSX/ASX listed copper producer and a NYSE listed major company.

Mr. Lines started working in the Democratic Republic of Congo in early 2005. Since then he designed and supervised geochemical sampling programs, advised on project acquisitions, authored baseline environmental studies and planned and managed RC and diamond drilling programs totaling well over 50,000 meters.

In addition to mineral exploration, Mr. Lines has several years experience in the field of mine permitting, including managing Environmental Impact Assessment Studies and public consultation programs.

Mr. Lines commented: "I am excited to be joining El Nino Ventures Inc. at this time -- the vast experience of the management team in doing business in the DRC and the company's project portfolio puts the company in a great position. I am eager to begin the 2008 drill campaign and maximize the value of the exploration properties."

Mr. Jean Luc Roy, President of El Nino Ventures states:" I am very pleased to have Mr. Allan Lines join our team in the DRC. We are very fortunate to have on board a geologist with such valuable DRC Copperbelt experience. With Allan's technical background and management's very substantial experience in the DRC the company is in a prime position to maximize the value of its highly prospective exploration permits in the DRC. Allan will work closely with his local technical team and he anticipates the start of our 2008 drill program for mid-April. "

[sumisu]

Copper Rises as Weak Dollar Boosts Demand for Inflation Hedge

By Millie Munshi

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601012&sid=amQlwg7ee7Bo&refer=commodities

April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose on speculation a weaker dollar will spur demand for raw materials as a hedge against inflation.

The metal has climbed 30 percent this year, approaching a record, while the dollar fell 6.3 percent against a weighted basket of six major currencies. The U.S. Dollar Index fell as much as 0.6 percent today on speculation Group of Seven finance chiefs meeting in Washington are unlikely to agree on a plan to support the U.S. currency.

``The metals are extremely sensitive to the movements in the dollar,'' said Michael Gross, a futures analyst at OptionSellers.com in Tampa, Florida.

Copper futures for May delivery gained 2.05 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $3.9445 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price fell 0.3 percent this week, partly on concern the surge near the record would erode demand for the metal used in wires and pipes.

The slumping dollar, which yesterday fell to a record of $1.5913 versus the euro, has increased demand from investors seeking a store of value, Gross said. A ``tidal wave'' of $70 billion has poured into commodity markets this year from hedge funds and other investors, Citigroup Inc. said in a report this week.

``There's a lot of speculative money out there that's looking for a home, and it's just been pouring into copper,'' Ron Goodis, a futures trading director at Equidex Brokerage Group Inc. in Closter, New Jersey, said on April 7. ``This market just doesn't look like it wants to stop.''

Mining Supplies

The metal reached $4.039 yesterday on concern supplies will trail demand. The highest price ever for the most-active contract was $4.04 in May 2006.

Producers including Rio Tinto Group and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. have said mines have been unable to keep up with rising demand, especially from China. Supplies may fall short of consumption this year, Bret Clayton, chief executive officer of Rio Tinto's copper unit, said on April 9.

``Strong demand from China has been supporting the copper price over the last several months, and there's the expectation that demand will continue to be strong through the rest of the year,'' Gross said.

China's imports of copper and copper products in March rose to 240,634 metric tons from 226,908 tons in February, the Beijing-based customs office said today, citing preliminary data. A year earlier, China imported 307,723 tons.

`Challenges'

``Global demand, even with the slowdown in the U.S., remains strong, and there are challenges to the industry to provide supplies,'' Richard Adkerson, chief executive officer at Freeport, said this week. The company is the world's biggest publicly traded copper producer.

Copper has gained more than fivefold since 2001 as consumption surged in China, the world's largest metals buyer. Citigroup estimates the country now accounts for 24 percent of world usage. Demand will outpace production by 100,000 metric tons this year, UBS AG said on March 27.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose $20, or 0.2 percent, to $8,650 a metric ton ($3.92 a pound).

To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in New York at [e-mail]

Last Updated: April 11, 2008 14:30 EDT

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Investor Interest Climbs on Teryl Resources’ Gold Hill News

By Paul Wallis

Teryl Resources Corp. (TRC.V: TSX) is a diversified explorer with interests in oil and gas as well as minerals. In a global mining bull market, companies, particularly on their lows, are often undervalued. The Teryl share price recently started acting like a seismograph in the first stages of registering a tremor on the TSX charts.

Teryl holds a wide range of properties and has major JV partnerships near major producing mines in Alaska, for example, but right now it’s the new property in Arizona that’s showing signs of changing the big picture in terms of assets and potential revenue. Teryl has seven patented claim blocks, totaling 248 acres, in the Warren Mining District, Cochise County, Arizona. The Gold Hill prospect includes the Old Gold Hill, Superior, and Baston mines. The company owns a 100% interest, subject to a 10% net profit interest for the vendors.

The Warren Mining District area was first opened up in the 1860s, and is Arizona’s iconic mining showpiece. The Phelps Dodge Corporation’s Lavender Pit mine, which is only a few miles from Teryl’s property, is one of the global all-time major copper producers, extracting 75 million tons of ore, which produced a billion dollars worth of copper, gold and silver in the process. The Bisbee area, where Teryl is drilling, has been in continuous commercial production for nearly a century.

Interestingly, the Lavender Pit has been reactivated for test drills following copper’s spectacular return to favor as a commodity. Teryl has apparently found the right commodity at the right time. Demand for copper is rising, with China’s insatiable production levels driving the trend and prices.

Teryl’s holdings contain a lot of old small scale works, including pits, cuts, placer digs, and small shafts. Work to date has identified strong indications of a gold/copper pattern of mineralization on the property.

Consensus of opinion at this stage is that the mineralization pattern is similar to proven deposits in Nevada’s Carlin Trend and Teryl’s neighbor Phelps Dodge’s Copper Queen deposit at Lavender Pit. The site is considered to have the potential to be a lode-type copper deposit. That fits with the pattern of mining in the area, where lode mineralization is well known.

(The phenomenon of similar regional deposits isn’t unusual in areas of high mineralization. Australia’s Broken Hill was producing new finds in the mid 20th century, long after the initial major discoveries in the 1880s and intensive searches.)

Teryl is backing that professional judgment, and on December 3 announced that it had begun drilling on three priority targets at the Bisso site on Gold Hill. The company is also in the process of acquiring a further 640 acres adjoining its Gold Hill interests. The expansion and consolidation of holdings is necessary to cover possible extensions of the deposits, and establish Teryl’s significant rights over the area.

The first natural issue for market consideration is financing. The company has a history of getting backing when it needs it. The TSX financing notices since 2002 read like a “How To Finance Your Operations Manual” for exploration miners. Teryl hasn’t had trouble finding backers for selective private placements. It says something for the credibility of the company that after a net loss of $465,000 for the year, the company made a placement for $407,000 in share warrants in August 2007.

More impressively, that private placement backing, which amounts to over CAD $4.3 million dollars in the last five years, is unswerving, despite the hard slog of exploration mining overheads. Teryl’s history indicates a pattern of holding assets, joint ventures, and carefully focused expenditure. Teryl’s CEO, John Robertson, has been running the company for 25 years, which explains the consistency of the company’s approach to business.

From the market’s perspective, the new finds, if realizing their early indications, constitute a potential significant positive change in net asset backing for Teryl’s shares. For the purposes of a formal valuation, Teryl is currently continuing its pattern of holding assets. The company has recently renewed its interest in its joint gold mining venture at Fish Creek until 2009, and retains its other Alaskan gold operations, indicating that the existing asset base is stable and functional.

There are strong potential upsides to the Gold Hill venture. The company has a lot of possible options for how it can develop the Gold Hill property into a revenue stream. Teryl’s joint venture approach, for example would be one possibility. Gold and copper are at historically good prices and commercial interest from the industry can be expected if the ore bodies live up to their promise.

This could be a seminal point in the company’s history. The potential for significant growth is clear. Teryl’s current moves are consistent with an expanding mode of operations. The company’s Gold Hill property will triple in size with the intended new acquisitions. That’s a fair testimony to the company’s degree of commitment in Gold Hill.

Teryl is also one of the main landowners in the Fairbanks Mining District, Alaska. The Gil project is a joint venture (80% Kinross/20% Teryl) with Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC). Adjacent to the Gil Project are the Fish Creek Claims that are a JV with Linux Gold Corp. The company has a 100%-interest in the West Ridge property, also in Alaska. Teryl also has a 10% net profit interest from Kinross for the Stepovich Claims – next door to Fort Knox in Alaska – and a joint venture silver prospect located in Northern BC, Canada. Additionally, the company also earns revenues from oil and gas holdings in Texas and Kentucky.

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Further high grades follow up Yale Resources’ investment dealer tour at La Verde project
By Brian O’Hara, Resourcex Investor
November 15, 2007

Yale Resources (TSX.V: YLL) has received further indication from its past producing La Verde Grade mine that a high-grade, potentially multi-million tonne resource may remain in and around the historic workings on the company’s 100% owned property. Samples taken as vertical chip channel samples at intervals along the walls in the historic workings returned high-grade assays with a weighted average of 2.57 per cent copper (Cu), 86.8 grams per tonne silver (Ag), 0.97 per cent zinc (Zn) and 0.19 g/t gold (Au) over an average vertical height of 1.89 m.

Full Article: http://www.resourcexinvestor.com/news.php?id=3312

[au_digger]

Ascendant Copper Acquires St. Genevieve in its Bid for Diversification and Near-term Production in the Americas

By Christina de Wit
November 15, 2007

John Whittier Greenleaf, the American Quaker poet and abolitionist, was noted for saying, “I’ll lift you and you lift me, and we’ll both ascend together.” It looks as if Ascendant Copper (TSX:ACX) has taken some of his sage relationship advice as it ushers in a new phase of its ascendancy with its friendly takeover of St. Geneviève Resources (CNQ:SGVL) of Montréal. The Boards of Directors of both ACX and SGVL have unanimously approved a letter of intent in which ACX acquires all of the outstanding shares of SGVL in exchange for up to 30,000,000 ACX common shares, as per its October 31st press release. Completion of the transaction is subject to final due diligence by ACX and SGVL.

This latest news represents a new chapter for Ascendant as it diversifies its asset base and gathers momentum in its push to achieve mid-tier production status. Of particular interest are SGVL’s two past-producing copper properties in Arizona.

Emerald Isle is a formerly producing open-pit copper mine located 24 km northwest of Kingman. Infrastructure in the area is excellent on all counts, with water coming from nearby wells. Mine infrastructure also includes a SX/EW (solvent-leach/electrowinning*) plant, some buildings and equipment.

Emerald Isle contains a 43-101-compliant** recoverable mineral resource of 27.5 million lbs Cu. The property has a history of work dating back to 1917, with open-pit production starting in 1943. A final pre-feasibility study conducted by Behre Dolbear reports an expected mine life of 4 years, which is a conservative estimate. The company plans to put the property into production within 12 months in order to produce about 5 million lbs of copper annually. The company estimates costs of around $4 to 5 million in order to put the property back into production.

It is particularly important to note the economic advantage that a SX/EW processing scenario lends to this project. It requires a low capital investment requirement relative to the smelting process, and can be viable even on a small scale. The process has very little environmental impact, as its liquid streams are easily contained, and acids used in the process are eventually neutralized by the host rock itself. Most importantly, SX/EW also allows for the processing of copper oxides, which are very difficult and expensive to smelt. These include mined copper minerals that are in oxidized form, such as azurite, brochantite, chrysocolla and cuprite, as well as residual copper in old mine waste dumps that has been oxidized through exposure to air.

The Zonia property, located south of Prescott, consists of 3,300 acres that produced 33 million lbs Cu from 1966 to 1975 by heap leaching. In 2006, Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates (RPA) prepared a NI 43-101 technical report on the property. It outlined an inferred resource of 63 million tons copper averaging 0.37% Cu at a cutoff grade of 0.25% containing an estimated 460 million lbs Cu.

Zonia is also considered a near-term producer. Ascendant plans to update the feasibility study and expand resources through additional drilling while preparing the site for production over the next 24 to 30 months.

The acquisition of SGVL enables Ascendant to build upon its comprehensive copper-moly portfolio. The company is also able to build on a great deal of copper exploration experience, gleaned while working in Ecuador, where it owns two properties: the Chaucha copper-molybdenum in the southwest, and the Junin copper-molybdenum porphyry project in the northwest.

Chaucha has an historic geological resource estimate of 216 million tons, with 2.2 billion lbs Cu and 122 million lbs Mo. Phase III of the drilling program – which involved testing for higher grade, +1% Cu – has recently been completed. Assay results are expected shortly. At the same time, according to the company’s website, Junin has a 43-101 compliant inferred resource estimate of 982 million tonnes, with 19.2 billion lbs copper and 864 lbs molybdenum.

This latest move serves as a bridge to create increased value and cash flow for Ascendant’s shareholders in the near and mid-term future. It also serves to support the advancement of Chaucha and Junin. Recently, Ecuador's President has come out in support of responsible mining, and the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum is laboring to determine how to best advance mineral projects within Ecuador. These new political developments should bode well for the people of Ecuador, for the mining community in general, and for Ascendant in particular.

In the meanwhile, the company will continue to build on its ongoing strategic exploration alliance in Ecuador with Rio Tinto, which gives it access to Rio Tinto’s US$14 million database.

In terms of investor awareness, the agreement with SGVL signals a key entry point for Ascendant’s potential investors in the sense that all the building blocks are now in place to ensure a balanced approach in terms of growth – and profit – at all stages of its development.

*Solvent extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) is a two-stage process that first extracts and upgrades copper ions from low-grade leach solutions into a concentrated electrolyte, and then deposits pure copper onto cathodes using an electrolytic procedure.

**National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and administered by the provincial securities commissions that govern how issuers disclose scientific and technical information about their mineral projects to the public. It covers oral statements as well as written documents and websites. It requires that all disclosure be based on advice by a "qualified person" and in some circumstances that the person be independent of the issuer and the property.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

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Ascendant Copper Holding Steady on Ecuadorian Nest Egg: Part 2
By Andrew K. Burger
October 19, 2007

Mining companies with stakes in Ecuador have been urgently meeting with government officials in an effort to demonstrate their good corporate citizenship, environmental and social responsibility to preserve their interests in the face of a new constitution and mining legislation to be drafted by 136 newly elected members of a National Constituent Assembly. What transpires will shape the face of mining, foreign investment and development in Ecuador, and very possibly elsewhere in South America, for years to come.

Ascendant Copper (TSX:ACX) is one junior miner intimately involved in the process. The company has been working to explore and develop Junin, a world-class copper porphyry deposit, as well as Chaucha, a second similar deposit the Andes’ western flank in northern Ecuador.

Ascendant is sitting on Junin, a world-class copper-molybdenum-silver-gold porphyry prospect, as well as two others, the Chaucha and Telimbela prospects. “We are sitting on the second if not the largest copper/molybdenum property in the world,” commented John Haigh, Ascendant’s Investor Relations manager. “Our Junín property consists of 23,475 acres of property containing billions of pounds of economic resource; in fact we are looking at a potential in excess of a billion pounds of molybdenum and in excess of 20 billion pounds of copper.”

While management remains optimistic in the longer-term, recent elections and upcoming debates and controversy associated with drafting a new constitution, as well as new mining laws and regulations, is prompting management to shift their focus elsewhere in the shorter term.

Mining & the Environment
Mining is inherently damaging to the environment yet practically every society in the world today could not function or support itself, nor would they have grown or developed to the extent they have were it not for a steady supply of key metals and minerals. Copper is one.

In keeping with the times and technology, Ascendant has made substantial efforts to demonstrate good corporate citizenship. These are encapsulated in the U.N. Global Compact, a program and internationally recognized set of standards regarding human and labor rights, environmental sustainability and anti-corruption to which Ascendant ascribes and has been formally accepted.

More specifically with regard to Junin and its other prospects in Ecuador, Ascendant has during the past two years established social and environmental programs within nearby Junin communities.

These include providing much needed medical and dental facilities and personnel, working to improve the educational system-- including teacher training and scholarships-- providing training on farming techniques, vaccinating cattle, supporting soccer camps, providing trash collection and disposal, maintaining and building roads, and developing nurseries with more than 40,000 plants to support reforestation of areas deforested by slash-and-burn agricultural methods, according to company information.

Moreover, it should be noted that all the above is in addition to potentially substantial government revenues and foreign exchange earnings the Ecuadorian government stands to garner should Ascendant’s development plans move forward.

An Easy Target for Protestors
The area around the Junin property has been a hotbed of legal and illegal protest. Ascendant’s demonstration farm in the Intag area was illegally seized and the company has been unable to conduct independent drilling to confirm and expand on historical exploration and assay results.

That looked set to change after March 20 when the company concluded agreements with the government and Decoin aimed at restoring law and order to the region, reducing tensions and respecting the rights of all parties.

One of the conditions was the return of the Intag demonstration farm, which had been seized the previous week. Based on Decoin’s demands, Ascendant also reluctantly agreed to reduce its work force substantially, from 159 to 48 people—most of whom were involved in community development efforts—as well as its current activities, which include the provision of medical and dental services in the area.

Ironically and somewhat quizzically, the ecological group was able to push through the shutdown of social services, claiming that such activities influenced the local community to look favorably on the Junin project and Ascendant.

The Ecuadorian government as part of the March agreement stated that it would organize a commission of community leaders, government officials and representatives for Ascendant to ensure the compliance of all parties.

A group of government officials visiting the Junin property and area in early August found that Ascendant was operating a medical center and a school bus for Intag's children. They asked the company to stop these social programs and Ascendant was compelled to agree based on the three-party agreement signed earlier in the year.

“We did it regardless of the fact the country has no legal authority to control our social programs. The opposition was annoyed because our projects increase the community’s support for mining,” Francisco Veintimilla, the company’s Ecuador general manager, stated in a media release.

The Government, Ascendant and Mining Going Forward
Mining experts from Canada, Chile, Peru and Spain were among some 350-plus participants on hand in Quito Sept. 18 when Ecuador’s recently appointed Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Galo Chiriboga, led a forum that brought together government, mining and community representatives to present and debate the central issues regarding the future of mining in the country.

Chiriboga stated his support for environmentally and socially responsible large-scale mining in a recent interview. He also announced that the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum would be restructured so that it could devise and enact improved national mining policies in both the short and long-term that would involve drawing input from all stakeholders.

Representatives from Cornerstone Capital Resources, another Canadian junior mining company with projects in Ecuador, were “favorably impressed and encouraged by this and other very positive signals,” the company’s manager of corporate communications, Roseanne Williams, wrote in a recent update.

All parties stand to gain if the Correa government can successfully negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement regarding Ascendant’s Junin property. Doing so might also be a significant step forward for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum’s efforts to forge an equitable and practical set of mining policies and regulations going forward. If and when this scenario pans out, expect Ascendant’s shares to make a strong surge to the upside.

Ascendant’s management “estimates that a lasting, mutually agreeable arrangement with the Ecuadorian government can be reached in 30 months,” Investor Relations manager John Haigh told Resourcex. “We believe that it will be at least one more year before the Ecuadorian mining law will be rewritten and will include a royalty to the government of at least 3%, that they currently don't have. That's fine with us.”

In the interim, Ascendant has launched efforts to acquire three near-term copper producing properties in the western US. Negotiations are well under way for two of the three, with an announcement expected on the third in about three months, according to Haigh.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

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Ascendant Copper Holding Steady on Ecuadorian Nest Egg: Part 1
By Andrew K. Burger
October 10, 2007

The situation at Ascendant Copper (TSX:ACX) in Ecuador might serve as a snapshot of the enormous risks and rewards facing management at mining companies—and their investors—worldwide, but particularly in Ecuador and South America, where the volatile political landscape has shifted towards socialist-populist democratic inspired government action in recent years.

On the upside, Ascendant is sitting on Junin, a world-class copper-molybdenum-silver-gold porphyry prospect, as well as two others, the Chaucha and Telimbela prospects. “We are sitting on the second if not the largest copper/molybdenum property in the world,” commented John Haigh, Ascendant’s Investor Relations manager. “Our Junín property consists of 23,475 acres of property containing billions of pounds of metal resource; in fact we are looking at a potential in excess of a billion pounds of molybdenum and in excess of 20 billion pounds of copper.”

On the downside, the Correa government on September 25 announced the formal suspension of Ascendant’s mining and community development activities in the Junin area in an effort to defuse tensions, an announcement Ascendant said was only a repetition of a previously announced order.

These tensions boiled over in December of last year on Ascendant’s agricultural property. Anti-mining activists confronted a third party contracted agricultural firm’s Intag workers and security guards resulting in almost 60 people being held captive by activists, and locked in the local community church for several days until order was restored by Ecuadorian police.

Ascendant in Ecuador
“ACX has magnificent assets in a country that has not had an operating metal mine for about 50 years. There are a few artisanal gold miners causing havoc with the environment with mercury that have the approval of the Government and that is the extent of metal mining in Ecuador,” Haigh told Resourcex.

Ascendant’s two main stakes in Ecuador are the Junin and Chaucha prospects, two NI 43-101 compliant copper-molybdenum properties. The Junin prospect has an inferred, NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate of 982 million tonnes. A drilling program is under way at the Chaucha property on the western flank of the Andes, the results of which are expected to up its combined resource estimate, according to Haigh.

Though preliminary indications of ore grade at the copper porphyry deposit at Chaucha are not as high as those at Junin, they are still high enough—above 0.4% copper excluding molybdenum, gold and silver credits—to warrant further exploration and development, particularly given the fact that the Pacific port of Belo lies just 40 kilometers away, he pointed out.

“The Junin deposit is supported by 10,000 meters of historical drilling and the Chaucha deposit is supported by 13,800 meters of historical drilling with about 10,000 meters of recent drilling by the company. We will have the current drilling sanctified by a NI43-101 report, and it looks like the resource package should increase to about 300 million tons,” Haigh elaborated.

“The Chaucha project would support a 30,000 to 40,000 tonne-per-day operation that would produce about 100 million pounds of copper per year at a cost of $1.40 per pound. At $3 copper, it could generate cash flow of about $160 million a year for 20 years.”

Given the company’s 70.8 million shares outstanding and excluding deductions for non-operating and non-cash flow expenses, liabilities and other deductions, this would translate into annual earnings per share of $2.26. Taking into account options and warrants, this would result in a rough annual EPS of $1.69 on a fully diluted basis.

Ascendant's management believe that world copper prices will remain high for the rest of this year and into next. “We think that reduced residential copper use in the States will be offset by increased copper use in hybrid gasoline-electric cars, which is double that of conventional cars and that China will continue to use all the copper they can get their hands on. We think that an average price of $3.18 per pound is achievable in 2008,” Haigh commented.

The Vagaries of a Shifting Political Landscape
Just how damaging the potential threat of socialist inspired, populist government intervention in mining projects is for mining companies and their investors is evident in the activity of Ascendant’s shares over recent months.

The company’s share price has been in steady decline since its November IPO, It has been trading downwards since July, when it was around C$0.40, only recently making slight gains to the C$0.20 per share level. Problems with environmental activists and with Ecuadorian politics have been the main causes.

“The problems that we have had and are having at Junin are the result of a massive campaign of ‘no mining in Ecuador’ conducted by a local NGO. This particular NGO has been operating since the mid-1990s and were violent objectors to Mitsubishi when they were drilling there from 1993 to 1997 on the same deposit.”

Despite all the promise Junin and Chaucha hold, and not just for Ascendant, further development at Junin will have to wait until the dust settles and Ecuador’s government establishes its new constitution and set of mining laws and regulations. In the meantime, larger mining companies such as Aurelian and Dynasty are moving forward on mine development in Ecuador; and work on Ascendant’s Chaucha and Telimbela projects continues. Furthermore, Ascendant is still moving forward with their Rio Tinto strategic partnership to develop additional properties.

In the meantime, Ascendant is shifting direction. Management began deploying a new business strategy about four months ago, the main thrust of which is an aggressive program to acquire near-term copper producing assets in North America, Haigh explained.

Ascendant is currently negotiating to acquire three copper assets in the western US. Announcements are expected in two to three months. “This should provide at least one cash flowing operation in 24 months and two in 36 months. The cash will be used to advance and protect the Ecuadorian assets,” Haigh commented.

NEXT WEEK: Visit Market News at www.resourcex.com for part two of Andrew Burger’s feature story on Ascendant Copper.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

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Tribune Uranium Seeking Value in Spin Offs, New Properties
By Anne Fletcher
October 15, 2007

As signs of a split corporate personality start to appear, Tribune Uranium Corp. (TSX.V: TCB) is looking to cure the condition by spinning off its non-core assets, including giving shareholders an unanticipated dividend.

The Vancouver-based exploration company announced October 9 it has two letters of intent (LOI) in hand for gold and copper-zinc properties in Manitoba’s Reed Lake mining district, near the recent VMS Ventures Inc. (TSX.V: VMS) copper discovery.

But Tribune was set up as a uranium company and plans to stay that way, says chief executive Graham Harris.

“We just happened to have a couple of opportunities,” Harris said in an interview. “They came at a good price and they are drill-ready.”

So the Manitoba properties will join Tribune’s Potonico gold property in El Salvador - brought on board initially because vice-president, exploration, Marco Montecinos, knows the region - in a new stand-alone company.

The legal work to create that company may take up to six months, Harris said, and, by that time, as Tribune continues its active search for drill ready properties, he expects to have another non-uranium acquisition to bolster value.

Tribune will have no stake in the new corporation, which will have completely separate management, Harris said. Tribune shareholders can expect shares in the new company in some ratio to their current holdings, for example 1:5, he said.

With plans for a first-quarter 2008 drill program in place once the 90-day period for due diligence is up, work on the newly-acquired Manitoba properties may be well underway before shareholders get a look at that company.

Under the LOIs with W.S. Ferreira Ltd., Tribune can earn a 100% interest in the Quartz Claims, northeast of Snow Lake, Man. and the Green Claims, south of Snow Lake, for $170,000 cash and an aggregate of 500,000 common shares over five years, for each property. The company will also pay a finder’s fee of $50,000 for each property to an arm’s length party, for a total of $100,000, subject to final TSX approval.

Assay results released by VMS Ventures of North Vancouver on Oct. 4 include 10.5 metres of 11.19% copper and 2.50 metres of 15.30% copper from drill hole RD 07-02 on its new Reed Lake project, near Snow Lake.

That project, as well as Tribune’s new properties, lie within the Flin Flon-Snow Lake Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) belt that to date has yielded more than 20 VMS deposits of copper-zinc along with gold and silver, producing ore worth more than $29 million.

The belt’s average 5 million tonne VMS deposit has a gross metal value of more than $1.5 billion.

The Quartz Claims was last drilled in the 1980s by Hudbay Minerals Inc., but Harris said those old results look more interesting today as discoveries over the ensuing years have helped in understanding the geology of the area.

The Quartz Claims cover a 4,800-foot-long electromagnetic conductor, interpreted as lying in a fold axis. The old drill results turned up significant gold mineralization, along with the alternation mineralization commonly associated with VMS. Results from the eastern end include 0.64 oz/t (18.14 g/t) Au over 4.2 feet and 0.43 oz/t (12.19 g/t) Au over 4.5 feet.

The untouched western end of the conductor, with two EM conductor bodies, will be the site of the 2008 drill program.

Old drill results from the Green Claims to the south, straddling the east shoreline of Blue Lake, turned up copper and zinc, including 0.75% Cu over 46.9 feet and sulphide exhalite grading 3.12% Cu and 2.25% Zn over 1.3 feet.

For both properties, “we’ve got some pretty good drill targets based on past exploration,” Harris said.

Work on the 149.5-square-kilometre Potonico property in El Salvador rests in limbo right now as local opposition to mining makes even the first step tricky. “We’re negotiating with the local bishop to gain access to the property,” Harris said. “I think we can come to an agreement with him.”

But drilling programs are underway on Tribune’s joint venture properties in northern Saskatchewan’s uranium-rich Athabasca region, currently home to the world’s largest uranium mine, owned by Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ, TSX:CCO) and minority partner Areva Resources Canada Inc. That mine is producing 18.7 million tonnes per year of 20.5% uranium, the highest grade in the world.

Tribune is currently working on its 60%-owned, 100,000-hectare North Shore Property, just north of Lake Athabasca and 10 km west of Cameco’s Maurice Bay uranium deposit, discovered in 1977 and containing an estimated 1.3 million pounds of uranium.

The company also recently announced winter drilling programs for its joint venture properties of Dufferin Lake-East, on the southern edge of the Athabasca Basin and adjacent to Cameco’s Virgin River uranium project with its recent Centennial zone discovery, and for its near-by Botham Lake property.

As well, the shopping spree continues, with Tribune close to making a “significant” uranium acquisition, Harris said.

But a $3.4 million private placement in May, 2007 is enough to keep Tribune going. “We’re fully funded right now,” he said. “I don’t anticipate raising any capital.”

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

[pplatte9]

Teryl Resources Creates a Buzz Near Bisbee’s Copper Queen
By Christina de Wit
October 12, 2007

Teryl Resources (TSX.V:TRC) is set to take flight as it moves into the next stage of an ambitious drilling program on its Gold Hill property near Bisbee, Arizona. The company has just signed a drilling contract for the project, with work to commence as soon as a drill becomes available. The program will target several copper showings on the property. The Gold Hill Mine property comprises 14 patented mining claims that include the Old Gold Hill, Superior, and Baston mines. Old shallow placer diggings are found throughout the property as well as small shafts, pits and cuts. Gold Hill is located less than four miles west of Phelps Dodge’s (since bought out by Freeport McMoRan for $26 billion) Copper Queen/Lavender Pit, which was one of the world’s biggest and richest mines during its heyday from 1954-1970. This open-pit operation yielded 75 million tons of gold, silver and copper ore for Phelps Dodge. The company has expanded its holdings in the area by staking another dozen patented claims near Copper Queen. Teryl has a chance to earn a 100% interest in the property, with a small royalty payable to the original owners.

Teryl’s other major project consists of four strategically-located claim blocks (the Gil Project, the Fish Creek claims, the Stepovich claims, and the West Ridge property) in the Fairbanks Mining District of Alaska– where it is one of the main landowners- with holdings contiguous to Kinross’ (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) Fort Knox Project. Fort Knox is the largest producing gold mine in Alaska, with a 4,000,000 oz. Au ore deposit.

Other properties in the company’s portfolio include a joint venture silver prospect located in northern British Columbia, as well as revenue-producing oil and gas projects in Texas and Kentucky.

Production in the Bisbee Mining District dates back to 1880 with the discovery of the copper carbonate deposit at the Copper Queen. New reserves are still being found, and as of 2006, there were 11 producing copper mines in Arizona. According to a monograph by Spencer Titley and Lukas Zurcher of the University of Arizona, the geology of the area is recognized as “Nevadan-aged plate convergence [which] was attended by formation of rhyolite calderas in a WNW-trending belt that overlaps the international border and, of which, Bisbee, Arizona (ca. 200Ma) may be a product. Extension of the Chihuahua terrane into southern Arizona reveals a distinctive crustal block characterized by Laramide igneous activity and Cu-related intrusion centered ore systems in a metal province than transgresses the border.” Results on the property so far support such a hypothesis– with 3% Cu in surface sampling, with gold values as well. Recent very deep penetrating geophysics in Arizona has revealed new deep-seated copper resources previously unknown by past operators. The company’s analysis of its geophysical info has defined 3-4 highly anomalous drill targets.

Teryl’s strategy is simple in that it looks for deposits near major existing or former producers. This approach allows the company to maximize reward potential while mitigating risk for investors. The company is also applying this philosophy to its program in Alaska. Teryl has entered into a joint venture agreement with Kinross, with 80% Kinross/20% Teryl, on the Gil Project. The main Gil Zone consists of a 3000 ft. strike length. According to Teryl’s website, the company has spent $1.6 million on exploration that has defined a resource of 400,000 ounces of gold (10 million tons grading 0.04 ounces per ton gold).

The company’s management isn’t afraid to think big. “All we need to do is find another Fort Knox,” says John Robertson, Teryl’s president. The company also has a 50-50 joint venture agreement with Linux Gold (of which Mr. Robertson is also president), on the Fish Creek claims. The company has recently completed a $400,000 private placement– with $150,000 earmarked for drilling targeted zones on the Fish Creek property that were identified as geophysical anomalies.

Alaska is usually regarded as an expensive place to work; however, Teryl is particularly well situated to run a low-cost operation. The property is only 22 miles north of Fairbanks– hence workers can stay in town- thus eliminating the need for company-constructed housing. The area’s infrastructure is excellent, given the property’s close proximity to the Fort Knox mill and to a major highway.

Several key factors allow the company to offer its investors an attractive risk-reward ratio: the ability to defray its overhead costs; two work programs entering the drilling stage; properties in the backyards of major producers in historically rich (and politically stable) areas, and high metals prices.

Any exploration success at Bisbee will undoubtedly garner interest from the majors like Rio Tinto (owners of Bear Creek), Freeport McMoRan, and Newmont. Mr. Robertson is optimistic regarding the company’s direction, as “the price of gold is moving to new highs, and Teryl is very well-positioned”.

Teryl offers unparalleled value at its current price range- with the downside risk being minimal– while the ongoing program at Gold Hill shows very high upside potential. Few companies at this price range have this much potential. This could well be a play that floats like a butterfly– and stings like a bee.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

[scroogemcdick]

Grenville Gold Digs into its Geological Cake at Silveria
By Christina de Wit
October 11, 2007

It looks as if Grenville Gold (TSX.V:GVG) has all the ingredients needed for success at its Silveria project in Peru. The company recently released a 43-101 report on Silveria which outlines its exploration and development plan for a potential silver-zinc-lead-copper resource. In addition to its three Peruvian properties, the company has a property in Ecuador which has a history of artisanal gold mining.

Silveria is located in Huarochiri Province, 80 km WNW of Lima. The property consists of 2,797.16 hectares in 224 concessions that cover four historical mining areas (Germania, Millotingo, Pacococha and Silveria). The area is well-serviced and there are several mills in the area, including an operable, 350 tonnes per day mill with related buildings at Millotingo. The Pacococha Mine (which eventually absorbed the Germania and Silveria operations), saw 30 years of production from high-grade mineralization. The Millotingo and Pacococha mines closed in 1992, due to weak metal prices and political turmoil.

The project is in the early phase of development, and Grenville has so far focused on consolidating the available database of historical Pacococha mine records, plans and sections into digital, 3-D format. This information will be superimposed on topographic maps to create a 3-D model that will provide a solid blueprint for underground channel sampling programs, drilling programs and a scoping study.

According to the company’s NI 43-101 report, the structural picture at Silveria suggests that the general area was subjected to severe tectonic compression that produced strong fracture patterns, on a regional scale, that in part allowed for the intrusion of polymetallic mineralization within quartz sulfide veins that filled open fractures. There are approximately 33 mineralized veins in the Pacococha mining area– seven mineralized veins at Germania-Silveria and two mineralized veins at Millotingo. It is suggested that this mineralogical environment is analogous to the one found at the neighboring Coricancha mine– recently reopened by Gold Hawk Resources, which will soon reach 600 tpd production.

The property is dotted with adits left by past producers. 86,000 tonnes of mineralized rock have been identified as being accessible in the short-term. Grenville’s long-term objective is to identify potential resources in the existing underground workings and then explore below this level for disseminated deposits

Of particular interest are the tailings dams adjacent to the Millotingo mill. The company plans to sample these tailings to assess the viability of heap leaching to recover the contained silver and gold. Other potential mineral resources that have been identified are numerous small- to medium-sized mineralized surface rock dumps (not including dumps left by artisan miners for collection and sale); unmined veins in the underground mine workings, on existing production levels, and in newly developed areas both beyond and beneath the developed limits of the existing production levels; and various surface exploration targets.

34 grab samples from the rock dumps returned assay results showing anomalous to low-grade gold values in all the Pacococha and Germania mine samples, but ore-grade gold values from Millotingo mine. Silver grades are consistently high in all the dump samples, with assays ranging from 3.50 g/t to 2,220 g/t Ag. Base metal values vary between 0.007% and 3.90% Cu, 0.01% and 7.15% Pb and 0.07% to 19.70% Zn, thus pointing to a high-grade polymetallic nature of the veins from all the districts.

The company has a particularly innovative strategy to leverage its short-term costs and generate significant cash flow. In order to safely explore the old workings, workers clean out the loose, high-grade rock that was stockpiled in the stopes by previous operators. That ore is then marketed to nearby mills that are working below capacity. It costs between $17-$18/t to get the rock to the mill, where it sells for between $100-120/t. According to the company’s president, A. Paul Gill, “[the process is] producing 500-600 tons a week”. The 43-101’s provisional and preliminary long-term scenario estimate of an average on-site operating cost is US$45 per tonne milled.

The old chestnut that states that “the best place to find a new mine is near an old one”, certainly applies in this situation. Soaring copper prices make formerly producing mines (especially in Peru) worth reexamining. Management has capitalized on market interest by recently launching a far-reaching market awareness campaign, with conference appearances in Calgary, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Geneva, and London.

Grenville is led by individuals with many years of successful exploration experience in key development roles on major projects. The company’s chairman, Mr. Len de Melt, is a graduate of the renowned Haileybury School of Mines and was instrumental in starting and building six mines, including Gulf Oil's Rabbit Lake mine (uranium), Syncrude mine (oilsands), Denison Mines' Quintette (coal), Homestake's Golden Bear mine (gold), BHP's Ekati mine (diamonds) and Goldust's Croiner mine (gold). Mr. A. Paul Gill, the company’s president, held senior positions with Norsemont Mining Inc. and is a Director of Lomiko Resources.

Grenville provides investors the opportunity to have their cake and eat it too: with properties that have a proven history and merit further exploration, a pragmatic, structured approach that lends itself to both short and long-term valuation possibilities, a current revenue stream, a comparatively tight share structure given today’s market (32,694,200 fully diluted), an international promotional effort in full swing, a mining-friendly climate in Peru, and record metals prices.

If the proof is in the eating, the market is showing a healthy appetite– GVG closed at $0.55, up $0.05 on Wednesday.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

[pplatte9]

As Yale Encounters Porphyry Deposits in Mexico, a Grand Mystery Unfolds as to its True Nature
By John Hurst
ResourcexInvestor.com
September 26, 2007

A grassroots company no longer, porphyry deposits have encouraged Yale Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:YLL) to expand its La Verde land package in Mexico by 400 hectares. Often a holy grail for explorers, porphyry deposits – all the way from Alaska to Chile – make for great exploration targets. They are typically low grade, promise immense tonnages and create your “As Seen on Google Earth”, open-pit mines.

Yale Resources’ La Verde project, a copper-zinc-silver-gold property located 45 km northwest of Hermosillo, Sonora State, Mexico, has at least six deposits, with workings on them dating back to the early 1900’s.

“We now have known mineralization of potentially economic grades. It’s not a grassroots exploration play. These are deposits and we are going to determine how large they are as quickly as we can,” stated Ian Foreman, the Vancouver company’s geologist-president.

La Verde Grande (The Big Green) is the project’s main deposit. Yale’s first program was done there. Land acquisitions adjoining its northeast corner cover the La Sierrita copper-zinc-molybdenum porphyry that was drilled in early 2000’s by Freeport McMoRan. In its amalgamation with Phelps Dodge, that behemoth chose to leave Mexico and the project was dropped. Another Canadian junior had the project in the 1990s, and dropped it too.

“In each case, the company would drop the property for larger economic reasons, not geological reasons,” Foreman said. “Either the metal prices were too low or the Canadian exchange rate was too high or the world markets were weak…but nobody came to a conclusion with regards to the geological potential of the project, and that was really key for us.

“Freeport-McMoRan drilled eight holes, of which seven are on land that Yale controls. Five of those holes intersected a porphyry. Each of those holes has long intervals of anomalous copper, zinc and molybdenum mineralization. We know that over this four-square-kilometer area, that’s a huge exploration target, and we’ve added a large additional target to the property,” Foreman said.

“So we know that there is a large mineralizing system present. The association between the La Sierrita porphyry and the skarn deposits we are concentrating on at the present, is currently unknown. Is it the source for all the mineralization that has bled into the limestones and created the skarns, or maybe that is indicative of additional porphyry present and maybe the additional porphyry is what is feeding these skarn systems and therefore is a genuine porphyry target on its own.”

The La Verde Grande mine has three principal levels – two of which are about 100 metres in length – and recent field work has identified two additional levels vertically higher, which indicate that there is the potential for additional resources to be defined both up and down dip. The northeast extension of the mine, located 30 metres to the north, has additional workings that continue for another 30 metres along strike. The northeast extension has a second level of workings, located 23 metres below, which have visual mineralization. These were not sampled in previous exploration campaigns but have been sampled by Yale personnel. A three-week rehabilitation program was required before sampling could begin.

A total of 175 samples have been taken and all samples have been submitted to ALS Chemex labs in Hermosillo. Samples were taken every five metres as vertical chip channel samples along the walls of the workings. This sampling program also included initial samples from the historic workings that are all within a radius of 150 metres of the La Verde Grande Mine. In each working, skarn mineralization with visible copper mineralization was encountered.

There has been only very limited drilling done at La Verde. Yale’s exploration strategy for the La Verde Project is that it wants to explore all the targets in the concept that there is a larger mineralizing system present. The technical team and sampling crews will now be moving to the El Picacho prospect, located 900 metres along strike from the La Verde Grande Mine, where work in the early 1900's exposed a breccia with strong copper oxide staining over a 15 metre width.

Trails leading up to the La Tescalama prospect, some 250 metres up the hillside, are being cleared so that the crews will have access. The La Tescalama prospect saw significant historical development as the principal working extends in at least 40 metres and exposed strongly copper mineralized skarn throughout.

“It’s our impression that all previous exploration has tackled these small, high-grade deposits individually,” he stated.

“How are they connected? Are they connected, and if so, what is the key that ties them together? Right now, we are trying to get a feeling for how much mineralization there is. In the La Verde Grande area, there is a mine with three levels of workings; there is an extension off to the northeast with two levels of workings that show the strike length is a deposit in the neighborhood of 150 metres. To us, that already is twice as long as what we understood the deposit to be when we first optioned the property. Now, in just simple exploration, we’ve identified six other small pits or workings that the old-timers had found mineralization, back in the day when they found just something interesting.

“That, to us, indicates that there is genuine exploration potential not just in the 150-metre radius surrounding the mine, but in the surrounding land.”

Much of the site is covered by calcrete, a calcium alteration product up to several metres in thickness and more difficult to explore. All will have to be reckoned with before Yale decides where to drill.

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

The author and ResourcexInvestor.com are not shareholders in the companies herein mentioned, and the author, as an employee of Resourcex Publishing Corp is expressly prohibited for owning any securities about which they may write for a period of 30 days prior to and 30 days after initial publication of the article in which the securities of any company are mentioned.

[jasonkessler]

A nice trend, but the more exciting trend is the price of copper lately. It's jumped with all the other metals (and soft dollar), but with china and india growing their infastructure at unbelievable rates, their demand is going to single-handedly outpace supply!

http://www.profitquotes.com/commodities-quotes.mpl?c=HG&s=7Z

[sumisu]

Chariot Resources to Add New Drilling to Resource Model In Feasibility Study

Thursday September 20, 10:18 am ET

http://biz.yahoo.com/ccn/070920/200709200414167001.html?.v=1

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 20, 2007) - Chariot Resources (TSX:CHD - News) today announced that its 70%-owned subsidiary Marcobre S.A.C. ("Marcobre") had decided to incorporate the results of up to 250 holes drilled or to be drilled since the last resource update into the resource model it will use for the Feasibility Study (FS).

In November 2006, Chariot announced a new resource estimate for the Mina Justa project. That resource was based on results from a total of approximately 140,000 metres of drilling of which 65,000 metres was completed in 2006. Using a 0.3% cut-off, measured and indicated resources total 346 million tonnes at 0.71% copper, and inferred resources total 127.9 million tonnes at 0.60% copper.

Since the cut-off date for the November 2006 resource estimate update, Marcobre has conducted further drilling totalling 34,000 metres. Drill results were reported from the Northern Oxide, Western Pit Extension, Cu 40 and Southern Extension areas as well as the Magnetite Manto potential starter pit. As previously stated, the results from this drilling have highlighted the possibility that there could be several high-grade starter oxide areas which could complement the initial output from Magnetite Manto starter pit identified in the Scoping Study; the results also have the potential to yet again increase the size of the ultimate pit at Mina Justa (see press releases dated August 7, 2007, June 26, 2007 and Oct. 26, 2006).

"We believe that by incorporating the results of the new drilling into the resource model, the average grade of the oxide resources could be increased," said Ulli Rath, President and CEO. "If we are able to achieve a 10% increase in the oxide grade then this could add significantly to the project NPV - by reducing the tonnes of ore to be mined, reducing the size of the vat leaching and the associated capital, and possibly by improving recoveries."

Chariot anticipates that it will take approximately three months to update the resource model to incorporate the additional drilling done in 2007, which will in turn require the rescheduling of the FS. The Company expects to be able to provide a new target date for FS completion and the start of production in mid-October, following a project alignment meeting in Peru to be attended by Chariot and Marcobre staff as well as consultants from GRD Minproc, GMI, Knight Piesold, Indec/Cade and Snowden, all of whom are working on the project.

"Chariot's Board of Directors has also concluded that, following the completion of the Feasibility Study, it would be appropriate for the Board to consider what strategic alternatives may exist in respect of maximizing value at Mina Justa," said Mr. Rath.

Forward-Looking Statements: Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian Securities Regulators. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Chariot Resources Limited (TSX:CHD - News) is developing its 70% owned Marcona Copper Property in Peru. With exceptional infrastructure, a significant resource and strong financial and commercial partners, Mina Justa is well positioned to become a mid-tier copper producer. Additional details about Chariot can be viewed at the Company's website, www.chariotresources.com.

CHARIOT RESOURCES LIMITED

Ulrich (Ulli) Rath, President & CEO

Contact:
Ulli Rath
Chariot Resources Limited
President & CEO
Local: [phone] or Cell: [phone]
Website: http://www.chariotresources.com

Investor Relations Advisor
Forbes West
Local: [phone] or Toll Free (NA): 1-888-655-5532


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Chariot Resources Limited

[sumisu]

Chariot Announces Additional High Grade Cu Oxide Intercepts at Potential Starter Pit

Thursday September 13, 8:33 am ET

22.0 Metres @ 2.08% Cu including 10.0 Metres @ 3.57% Cu;
42.0 Metres @ 1.26% Cu including 18.0 Metres @ 2.46% Cu

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 13, 2007) - Chariot Resources Limited ("Chariot") (TSX:CHD - News) is pleased to announce additional drill results from its planned 40,000 metre 2007 drilling campaign at the Marcona Copper Project. Results reported today are from a follow-up round of drilling at the Magnetite Manto area. Previous drill results from this area were released on May 10 and August 1, 2006 and May 17, 2007.
Magnetite Manto is located approximately 1 km west of the Mina Justa Main Pit. The current results cover an estimated strike length of about 380 metres out of a projected strike length of about 550 metres for the entire Magnetite Manto zone. The Scoping Study has identified this area as having the potential to become a high grade copper oxide starter pit.

Notable highlights from the follow-up round of drilling at Magnetite Manto are (all results are copper oxide mineralization):

[CONTINUED IN FOLLOWING LINK]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ccn/070913/200709130412800001.html?.v=1

[Ed Monton]

I'd like to ride a trend like that. Never done it before.

[Tackler]

Will be sweet if ELN looks like that in a couple years :)

[Ed Monton]

KAT

[kraftdinner]

Baja Mining completes feasibility study


2007-05-29 09:38 MT - News Release

Mr. John Greenslade reports:

BAJA MINING COMPLETES DEFINITIVE FEASIBILITY STUDY; ROBUST ECONOMICS CONFIRMED

Baja Mining Corp. (the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") for the Boleo project located at Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The DFS is based on long-term prices of $1.50/lb copper, $15/lb cobalt and $1,200/t zinc sulphate, unless otherwise stated. All dollar amounts are in United States dollars.

Highlights:

 
 Commercial life of mine average cash cost of negative $0.07/lb of produced copper, net of by-product credits; 
 Direct capital costs of $407 million, an increase of only 2.5% above the capital costs outlined in the Company's January 2007 Updated Preliminary Economic Analysis ("PEA"); 
 Average annual production, for the first four years of full production: 
 Copper cathode: 55,750 tonnes; 
 Cobalt cathode: 1,535 tonnes; and 
 Zinc contained metal: 6,300 tonnes 
 Proven and probable reserves provide for 25-year mine life; 
 More than 275 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources grading 1.77% copper equivalent; 
 More than 250 million tonnes of inferred resources grading 1.29% copper equivalent; 
 After-tax IRR of 24.7%, or 46.0% at current market prices; 
 After-tax NPV (at 8% discount rate) of $700 million or $2.3 billion at current market prices; 
 Upside from potential manganese production is still available and will increase the base case NPV by an additional $302 million; and 
 Manganese (contained in manganese carbonate) production could exceed 100,000 tonnes/year at the current design capacity. 
 

John Greenslade, President, commented: "The company is pleased with the improvements confirmed since the Updated PEA, particularly with the increased resource estimate that will facilitate increased near-term copper production. The DFS has confirmed Boleo's already robust economics while keeping capital costs in check. Baja Mining is now firmly positioned to complete the financing and construction of the Boleo Project and we look forward to bringing the Project into production."

DFS Advisors

The DFS incorporates capital and operating cost estimates prepared by Bateman Engineering ("Bateman") and Wardrop Engineering ("Wardrop") for the process plant and mine plan developed by Agapito Associates, Inc ("AAI"), Australian Mine Design and Development ("AMDAD") and Wardrop in accordance with NI 43-101 standards.

Project Description

The Boleo Cu-Co-Zn-Mn Project is located on the east coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico near the town of Santa Rosalia. The deposit contains seven (7) mineralized seams ("mantos"), stacked within a single formation, all dipping gently to the east towards the Sea of Cortez in a step-like fashion, due to post depositional faulting.

The Project consists of approximately 11,000 hectares of mineral concessions and 7,000 hectares of surface occupancy rights, each assembled as a contiguous titled block. The Project is located within the "buffer zone" of the El Vizcaino Biosphere, a Mexican National environmental reserve. An Environmental Impact Manifest (EIM) was submitted in early 2006, and approved by the Mexican authorities in December 2006. The Company has also received authorization to commence development of the Project within the Biosphere.

The Project is to be developed as a series of underground mines using conventional soft rock mining methods, after which small open-cut mines will feed ore to a processing plant utilizing a two stage leaching circuit followed by solid/liquid separation and Solvent Extraction Electrowinning to produce copper and cobalt as LME Grade metal and zinc as zinc sulphate.

Resource Model

Updated resource estimates (April 2007) have been prepared by Hellman & Schofield Pty Ltd ("H&S") that include all results of the 2006 in-fill drill program. Total Measured and Indicated resources have increased to a level sufficient to support a 25 year project life.

Total reported Measured, Indicated and Inferred resources, estimated using 3D block models, are based on Copper equivalent (CuEq) cut-off grade of 0.5%. (CuEq equals Cu plus 15Co/1.50 plus 1.20Zn/1.50)1. The block models were used for open cut mine design.

 
 Description   Tonnes     CuEq.% Cu%  Co% Zn%   Mn% 
 Block Model (x millions) 
  
 Resources 
 Measured       74.6      2.09  0.93 0.08 0.48 2.72 
 Indicated     202.6      1.65  0.62 0.05 0.66 3.10 
 Total M & I   277.2      1.77  0.70 0.06 0.62 3.00 
 Inferred      253.2      1.29  0.39 0.04 0.63 2.65 
  
 1. Mn is not considered in the equivalency formula. 
 

For underground mine planning purposes, gridded seam models were produced to target higher grade copper mineralization situated towards the base of each manto in order to enable higher copper production and reduce dependence on by-product credits in the early years of the project. Gridded seam model resources are contained within the above block model and are not in addition to it. Resources for the gridded seam models follow and are based on the same CuEq cut-off and CuEq formula as used for the block models.

 
 Description   Tonnes     CuEq.% Cu%  Co% Zn%   Mn% 
 Seam Model (x millions) 
  
 Resources 
 Measured       61.1      2.39  1.17 0.08 0.55 2.58 
 Indicated      85.8      2.02  0.84 0.06 0.73 3.13 
 Total M & I   146.9      2.17  0.97 0.07 0.66 2.90 
 Inferred       85.6      1.67  0.52 0.05 0.81 3.10 
  
 1. Mn is not considered in the equivalency formula. 
  
 

Under NI 43-101 that portion of the Block and Seam resource models covered by mine plans are allowed to be classified as reserves. The following reserves are contained within the above resource models and are not separate from them. The same copper equivalent cut-off grade of 0.5% and copper equivalent formula have been used (CuEq equals Cu plus 15Co/1.50 plus 1.20Zn/1.50)1.

 
 Description   Tonnes     CuEq.% Cu%  Co% Zn%   Mn% 
 Block Model (x millions) 
  
 Open Cut 
 Reserves 
 Proven         11.1      2.03  0.75 0.10 0.37 2.74 
 Probable        6.5      1.75  0.70 0.07 0.48 3.08 
 1.  Mn is not considered in the equivalency formula. 
  
 Description   Tonnes     CuEq.% Cu%  Co% Zn%   Mn% 
 Seam Model (x millions) 
  
 Underground 
 Reserves 
 Proven         29.8      2.54  1.69 0.08 0.46 2.38 
 Probable       37.6      2.19  1.34 0.07 0.69 3.36 
  
 1. Mn is not considered in the equivalency formula. 
  
 

Mining

Both surface and underground mining operations are planned for extracting ore for the first 25 years at a full mining rate exceeding 3.1 million dry metric tonnes per annum. Approximately 68 million tonnes of ore will be mined from underground operations and 9 million tonnes from surface open cuts. Approximately 18.8 million tonnes of limestone will also be quarried for use in the plant process.

Geotechnical information on the seam formation and low material strength of the mantos suggested that conventional "soft rock" mining methods such as those used in underground coal, potash or salt mining would be successful. Room-and-pillar mining using continuous miners was chosen because of the method's flexibility for changing layout designs, its efficient recovery of resources and lower initial capital cost. The resource block seam model was used to define manto areas that could be mined.

Underground mining plans for high grade copper targets have been prepared for mantos 1, 2, 3 and 4 by AAI. These plans focus on a strategy based on advancing a narrow set of mine workings into areas identified with high grade copper and then retreat mining the mantos and allowing the ground to collapse after removing the ore.

Surface mining plans for mantos 2, 3a, 3aa, and 3, as well as the limestone quarry have been prepared by AMDAD. The first 25 years focus on first providing limestone rock to the plant process and then manto ore after underground mined ore grades fall to comparable levels.

Process plant

The process plant is being designed to treat 3.1 million dry metric tonnes per annum at a head grade of 2.2% copper, 0.1% cobalt and 0.6% zinc through an integrated hydrometallurgical facility to produce LME Grade `A' copper cathode; high purity (greater than 99.8% Co) cobalt cathodes and zinc sulphate monohydrate. A conservative ramp-up rate of 4 years is assumed before achieving design throughput of ore, however the run-of- mine ore grades are highest in these years and copper production will still reach the capacity of the electrowinning circuit by year three (3). Recovery of cobalt and zinc will commence in year 2, allowing an accelerated construction schedule for copper production and a focused technical effort on the start-up of the copper circuit.

The process plant design includes a 2,400 tonnes/day (t/d) acid plant with a cogeneration facility to produce electrical energy from the burning of sulphur. It is expected that the acid plant will generate essentially all of the power requirements of the process and electrowinning plants as well as the desalinated water requirements. The leach circuit will utilize sea water. The potential value of carbon credits that may be available from the use of a heat recovery system to increase the production of power has not been incorporated into the economic analysis of the project.

Marketing of the copper and cobalt products is assumed to be through a metal trading company as an off-take partner. "Expressions of Interest" have been received from several potential partners and it is expected that transfer of title for the products would occur at, or close to, the plant gate to assist the company with minimizing working capital requirements. Marketing of zinc sulphate is assumed to be done by agents who are expert in the business and allowances have been made for freight to the markets and agents' commissions in the net price received.

Capital Costs

Capital costs have been prepared by Bateman, Wardrop, AMDAD, AAI and the Company. The estimated direct capital cost of the project, excluding working capital requirements, is $407 Million. The total project cost, including Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management, Owner's Costs, and 12.5% overall Contingency is $568 Million. A summary of capital costs is listed in the table.

 
 Project Area         Capital Cost 
  
 Overall Site          $39,142,000 
 Mining                $59,678,000 
 Process Plant        $160,322,000 
 Site Services         $94,285,000 
 Buildings             $14,956,000 
 Construction 
 Indirects and Freight $39,063,000 
                      ------------ 
 Direct Field Costs   $407,446,000 
  
 EPCM                  $45,805,000 
 Contingency           $62,349,000 
 Owner's Costs         $36,773,000 
 Mine Pre-development  $16,019,000 
                      ------------ 
 Total DFS Value      $568,392,000 
 

Mine and Mine Pre-Development capital costs are as at April 30, 2007.
The remainder of capital costs are as at July 31, 2006, and exclude escalation.


Production and Operating Costs

Start-up of the process plant is scheduled for end of second quarter, 2009. Provision has been made for a ramp-up to full production capacity over the first four years. No cobalt or zinc sulphate production is scheduled in year one, with recoveries reduced in year two, while the cobalt and zinc circuits are being brought into production. As the first year is a partial year of production, it has not been included in the following tables.

 
                        BASE CASE PRODUCTION SUMMARY 
  
                   Yrs 2-5  Yrs 6-10   Yrs 11-15  Yrs 16-20 Yrs 21-25  Average 
  
 Ore treated (kt/y)   2,828   3,120      3,120     3,120     3,120     3,071 
  
 Grade: % Cu          2.15    1.80       1.60      1.05      0.93      1.52 
        % Co          0.071   0.067      0.074     0.091     0.084     0.076 
        % Zn          0.36    0.46       0.59      0.61      0.77      0.57 
        % Mn          2.02    2.50       2.46      3.30      4.21      2.93 
  
 Production (t/y): 
 Copper              55,755  51,389     45,486    29,909    26,391    41,204 
 Cobalt               1,535   1,644      1,796     2,222     2,061     1,865 
 Zinc Sulphate       17,917  26,702     34,361    35,692    45,131    32,546 
 

UNIT OPERATING COSTS, WITHOUT MN PRODUCTION
(expressed in $/tonne of ore treated)

 
                   Yrs 2-5  Yrs 6-10  Yrs 11-15   Yrs 16-20  Yrs 21-25  Average 
  
 Mining              $9.87    $7.67      $8.15     $7.94     $5.10     $7.62 
 Process            $20.80    $20.51    $20.87    $19.77    $22.83    $20.96 
 G&A, Sales          $1.56    $1.71     $1.98      $2.02     $2.34     $1.94 
 Total ($/t)        $32.24    $29.89    $30.99    $29.72    $30.72    $30.53 
 Cash cost* $/lb     $0.18    $0.06     $(0.04)   $(0.36)   $(0.48)   $(0.07) 
 Cash Flow 
 $000/yr          $196,925  $116,007  $107,086   $85,661    $89,303  $115,749 
 

*Cash cost/lb of Cu is net of cobalt and zinc credits. Cash flows are after-tax,
using Base Case prices of $1.50/lb Cu, $15/lb Co and $1,200/tonne ZnSO4.

When production of manganese carbonate commences the costs shown above will increase somewhat due to the requirement for additional reagents (soda ash) and distribution costs of the product. The estimated production, and costs, when manganese is recovered are shown in the table above.


PRODUCTION AND COSTS, WITH MN PRODUCTION
(assuming Mn starts in 2011)

 
                   Yrs 2-5  Yrs 6-10  Yrs 11-15   Yrs 16-20  Yrs 21-25   Average 
  
 MnCO3 production   66,673   134,359    132,446     177,304    226,365   144,603 
 Mn contained       30,866    63,149     62,250      83,333    106,392    67,693 
 Unit Op cost ($/t) $37.54    $39.73     $40.69      $42.71    $46.85     $41.73 
 Cash cost* of Cu   $(0.04)   $(0.44)    $(0.60)     $(1.49)   $(2.12)    $(0.77) 
 Cash Flow 
 $000/yr          $217,817  $156,544   $147,208    $139,077  $158,953   $161,674 
 

*Cash cost/lb of Cu is net of by-product credits. Cash flows are after-tax, using
Base Case prices of $1.50/lb Cu, $15/lb Co and $1,200/tonne ZnSO4.


Project Economics

Project economics are presented for four cases: 1) Base Case; 2) Base Case with Manganese production; 3) Five Year Average (three year trailing plus two year leading) Price case; and 4) the current prices scenario. No manganese production is assumed for cases three and four.


Base Case: Base Case economics for the project have been developed using long-term metal prices of $1.50 per pound of copper, $15.00 per pound of cobalt, and $1,200 per metric tonne of zinc sulphate monohydrate. The LME five year forward price curve for copper has been used for pricing in the first three years of production with an extrapolated transition to the long term price in the fourth year.
Base Case with Manganese Recovery: The Boleo deposit is endowed with a rich resource of manganese which is now being recognized as being in short supply. Manganese prices have more than doubled in recent months and manganese metal is now selling in the US in excess of $4,000/tonne. The process selected for the project enables recovery of manganese (as manganese carbonate) with very little additional capital investment (approximately $20 Million) and utilizes uncomplicated technology. The market for manganese carbonate is limited but the material can be further processed into metal, electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD), or manganese sulphate. For the purpose of evaluating this project it has been assumed that manganese carbonate can be sold, as an intermediate product, for $650/tonne and that it will be necessary to ship it offshore for further processing. The assumed price is less than one third of the current value of the contained metal to allow for third party conversion costs and a potential decline in overall prices from current levels.
Five Year Price Case: For comparison purposes the project economics are also shown using the weighted average three year trailing plus two year leading price for copper and cobalt ($2.25/lb and $16.00/lb). No manganese production is assumed for this case.
Current Price Case: The Base Case prices are considerably lower than current prices, which as of mid-May, 2007 are approximately $3.50/lb for copper, $30.00/lb for cobalt, and $1,500/tonne for zinc sulphate. A case is shown using current prices but the Company does not expect that current prices will be sustained over the long term and the case is shown for comparative purposes only. No manganese production is assumed in this case.

 
                   Base Case       Base Case w. Mn   5 Yr Avg prices  Current Prices 
  
 IRR Pre-tax         29.4%                 32.5%            32.7%          53.9% 
 IRR After tax       24.7%                 27.5%            27.7%          46.0% 
 NPV* @ 0%         $2,218                $3,297           $3,229          $6,388 
 NPV @ 6%            $924                $1,345           $1,366          $2,913 
 NPV @ 8%            $700                $1,020           $1,045          $2,313 
 NPV @ 10%           $531                  $777             $803          $1,860 
 

*Note: all NPVs are after-tax


Sensitivities

The project is most sensitive to 4 key variables: copper price, cobalt price, capital costs, and operating costs. The sensitivity of the after-tax IRR and NPV (at 8% discount rate) relative to the Base Case (without manganese) are shown in the table below to indicate the effect of + or 10% changes in the key variables.

 
                               After Tax IRR                     NPV @ 8% ($Millions) 
  
                       -10%      Base Case     +10%           -10%        Base Case     +10% 
  
 Copper price          21.6%      24.7%        27.5%          $571.5       $700.3       $821.5 
 Cobalt price          24.1%      24.7%        25.3%          $662.9       $700.3       $737.7 
 Capital cost          27.3%      24.7%        22.3%          $743.6       $700.3       $652.2 
 Operating cost        26.0%      24.7%        23.4%          $765.2       $700.3       $635.4 
 

Current Activity

Site Preparation

Environmental permit requirements to re-locate flora and fauna at several identified areas prior to construction are currently underway. Groundwater monitoring and baseline environmental data collection work is continuing. Geo-technical drilling and trenching is currently being conducted at the future sites of the process plant, the marine dock and tailings dam under the direction of Klohn Crippen Berger, Vancouver, B.C.

Financing

Strong support of the Boleo project has been shown by the financial community, including project finance lenders and metal off-take parties. Baja is working closely with its advisor, Endeavour Financial, which has prepared an Information Memorandum that will be distributed to the commercial bank market and other potential lenders immediately following release of the DFS Summary. Offers of bridge financing have also been received which will allow the Project development to go ahead without being delayed by the main financing process.

Endeavour Financial, the Company's financial advisor, commented: "The DFS confirms the robust economics of the Boleo Project and supports considerable debt capacity. There has been very strong interest in the Project from the commercial debt market and metal offtake sector, and we look forward to working with Baja in completing the financing of the project in the shortest timeframe possible."

Engineering and construction

Contracts are being finalized for basic engineering and construction. Wardrop Engineering in Vancouver, B.C., has commenced the set-up and basic engineering phase. It is expected that they will be supported by Bateman Engineering for Process Engineering and by a major construction company with experience in Mexico for constructability and pricing reviews during this phase.

Minor metals and Laboratory work

Work is continuing in investigation of low energy methods for production of manganese and zinc sulphate products. As well reviews are being conducted into the possible recovery of minor metals such as indium, gallium and germanium.

William Yeo, of Hellman and Schofield Pty. Ltd, a Qualified Person, has reviewed the Resource Model and the disclosure contained herein regarding the same and accepts responsibility for such disclosure. John Wyche, of Australian Mine Design and Development, a Qualified Person, has reviewed the surface mining reserves and the disclosure contained herein regarding the same and accepts responsibility for such disclosure. Tim Ross, of Agapito Associates Inc., a Qualified Person, has reviewed the underground mining reserves and the disclosure contained herein regarding the same and accepts responsibility for such disclosure. Michael Holmes, of Bateman Engineering, a Qualified Person, has reviewed the process plant discussion and the disclosure contained herein regarding the same and accepts responsibility for such disclosure.

We seek Safe Harbor.

[sumisu]

El Nino Acquires First Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Tuesday May 29, 11:00 am ET

- El Nino has acquired an initial 70 percent interest, over 350 square kilometers. - Located in the world renowned DRC Copperbelt. - El Nino's first project is adjacent to Anvil Mining (AVM:TSX), Tiger Resources (TGX:ASX), BHP Billiton and First Quantum Minerals (FQM:TSX). - El Nino's President and management have extensive experience in the DRC. - Exploration program in progress. - El Nino is aggressively acquiring base metal projects throughout the DRC. - El Nino is the Project Operator - El Nino's market cap is approx. $11 million, working capital $3.2 million

http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/070529/el_nino_copper_congo.html?.v=1

VANCOUVER, May 29 /CNW/ - El Nino Ventures Inc. ("El Nino") (TSX.V: ELN; OTCBB: ELNOF; Frankfurt: E7Q) is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 70 percent interest in a Joint Venture Agreement with GCP Group Ltd, a private Congolese company. El Nino holds it's initial 70 percent interest in Research Permits No. 5214, 5215, 5216 and 5217. These permits were granted by the Cadastre Miner of the DRC and covering 352 square kilometers in one of the most prospective exploration areas in the DRC-Zambian Copperbelt. The permits are located between Lubumbashi and Likasi and offer easy access for exploration which offers excellent infrastructure.

Harry Barr, Chairman of El Nino stated: "The acquisition of our first base metals project in the DRC allows our company to fulfill our mandate of exploring and developing base metal projects on an international scale. Our objective, simply stated, is to control one of the leading base metal and mineral exploration portfolios in the DRC."

On May 10th, 2006 Jean-Luc Roy was appointed President of El Nino and brought his extensive expertise in exploration and development in Africa to our company. Mr. Roy spent 19 years of his professional career working and living in Africa. In Africa Mr. Roy worked for Ashanti Gold and International Gold Resources. Before joining El Nino, Mr. Roy played an integral part in the development of First Quantum Minerals (FQM) in the DRC as Managing Director for five years. While in Africa Mr. Roy spearheaded teams that managed multi-million yearly exploration budgets, helped place three mines in production and was responsible for acquiring valuable land positions for various companies. Mr. Roy has negotiated agreements successfully at all levels of government in Africa.

About the DRC

The DRC Copperbelt hosts multiple world class deposits and the exploration potential is considered one of the best in the world. In late 2006 the DRC had it's first free election in 48 years and previous to that it established a new mining code in 2003. These events have created a renewed confidence for investors in the DRC. Major mining companies such as Phelps Dodge and First Quantum Minerals are now in construction on world class ore bodies. Several junior companies are now actively exploring for copper and other minerals in the DRC. Most known deposits in the DRC were found in the last 1940's and 50's. From 2000 several new deposits were found by companies like Anvil Mining and First Quantum Minerals. The potential for finding new world class ore bodies is considered excellent by the international mining community.

Our projects are in the same geological belt as properties that have yielded deposits and excellent copper values for companies like Anvil Mining Limited and Tiger Resources Limited. These projects are adjacent to land holdings held by major companies like BHP Billiton and Gecamines.

Jean Luc Roy, the President of El Nino states: "This significant new acquisition is the first step in our objective of controlling one of the leading base metal portfolio's in the DRC. I am confident from my years of working in the DRC that this new direction for El Nino will further accomplish our growth strategy which is to develop our existing projects and continue an aggressive acquisition program to acquire new projects and place them into production.

I was very fortunate to be part of one of the most successful companies in the DRC. The establishment of the new mining code in the DRC, and its first free election in late 2006, will allow El Nino's experienced management team to accomplish its DRC objectives and be one of the most aggressive new exploration development company in this region."

DRC Joint Venture Terms

Under the terms of the Agreement El Nino purchased a 70 percent interest in the Joint Venture with an option to acquire up to 90 percent of the project by coming to an agreement with our partners, over time. An initial cash payment of $250,000 USD will be made when all regulatory approvals have been received and upon titles of the properties being transferred to the new SPRL Congolese Company that is now being formed. Additional cash payments totaling $300,000 USD will be made in three annual installments. 300,000 shares of El Nino will initially be issued to GCP Group upon regulatory approval and 400,000 additional shares will be issued over a three year period to the GCP Group. El Nino will fund all exploration work but will retain the services of the CGP Group in an agreement to be negotiated at a later date to support administrative and logistical aspects of the project. This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval.

About El Nino Ventures Inc.

El Nino's growth strategy is to develop our existing projects and continue an aggressive acquisition program to acquire new projects and place them into production.

Our first new base metal acquisition in the DRC compliments our aggressive zinc exploration plan for the Bathurst Mining Camp with our partner Xstrata Zinc. In June 2007, our company begins a fully funded $4.5 million dollar exploration program which includes a 25,000 meter drill program which will use a minimum of three drill rigs drilling 24 hours a day for up to nine months.

EL Nino is also the owner and operator of the Bancroft Uranium projects. El Nino has optioned it's projects to Canam Uranium, and is being funded by them, and is currently completing its first round of drilling on up to eight uranium projects in an ex-producing Uranium camp. The drill results on the first phase are forthcoming.

El Nino is currently in its most aggressive acquisition phase of the company's history. El Nino has approximately $3.2 million in working capital.


On Behalf of the Board of Directors

(signed)
Jean Luc Roy, President and COO

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CUSIP No. 28335E-10-6


This news release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the British Columbia Securities Commission and the United States Securities & Exchange Commission. This email should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell securities of this company.
For further information

Toll Free 1-800-667-1870 or [phone], Email: [e-mail], Fax [phone], or visit www.elninoventures.com, 2303 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6M 2A3



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: El Nino Ventures Inc.

[kraftdinner]

Southern Silver starts drilling at Minas de Ameca


2007-05-22 11:34 MT - News Release

Mr. Lawrence Page reports

DRILLING STARTS ON SOUTHERN'S MINAS DE AMECA PROJECT

Southern Silver Exploration Corp. has started drilling on its Minas de Ameca project, in Jalisco, Mexico. A total of 5,000 metres of HQ diamond drilling, on multiple precious and base-metal targets, is planned for the 2007 exploration season. Ground reconnaissance, mapping, sampling and IP geophysics continue to refine targets on this 322-square-kilometre property.

Up to 12 drill holes totalling approximately 2,500 metres will test a series of gold-copper-enriched quartz-hematite veins in the San Luis and Cerro de la Cruz prospect areas. The veins, which occur along the contact between altered felsic and monzonitic intrusive rocks, are interpreted as high-level (epithermal) expression of deeper, porphyry-related mineralization. Two early 2007 reconnaissance drill holes returned mineralized intervals of up to 30 metres grading 0.39 gram per tonne Au and 0.17 per cent Cu. Recently conducted IP geophysics over this mineralized area has traced the associated geophysical anomaly an additional 400 metres along strike to the east and to over 400 metres depth.

An additional 2,500 metres of drilling is planned at the Magistral mine area. The Magistral vein is exposed on surface for over 400 m strike with the main vein averaging between three to 10 metres thick. High-grade gold and copper ores were mined from the vein system over a 10-year period in the early 1900s and were accessed via a network of shafts and adits totalling 750 metres. Mexican government reports concerning the historical Magistral mine indicate select samples carried high-grade copper values, in the 4-per-cent-to-7.5-per-cent range, with gold grades up to 2.5 g/t. The reports reveal that 100,000 tonnes of ore-bearing material was produced for the on-site 250-tonne-per-day mill, with another 120,000 tonnes of potential resources left behind within the mine.

Other geophysical and geochemical targets on the Minas de Ameca concessions are currently being reviewed as part of a 2007 surface program.

Rob Macdonald, PGeo, is the qualified person responsible for reviewing the technical results reported in this release.

We seek Safe Harbor.

[50invester]

Is Copper Fox listed anywhere here ? Comments, thank You.

[Ed Monton]

KAT

[sumisu]

Phelps Dodge Posts 988% Rise in Quarterly Net Income

By Jon A. Nones

29 Jan 2007 at 06:54 PM EST

St. LOUIS (ResourceInvestor.com) -- Phelps Dodge [NYSE:PD], the world's third-largest copper producer, said that fourth-quarter profit surged to a record high because of higher average copper prices, a gain from its failed takeover of Inco and some well-timed copper hedging. Net income rose 988% year-on-year and 92% for the whole year.

The Rest: http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=28510

[sumisu]

hogfan2,

NTO has always been one of my most favorite stocks.

It's hanging in there in the face of a recent and tough copper market.

sumisu

[hogfan2]

NTO has been rising steadily and the chart looks good...hog

[sumisu]

China's Copper Imports May Rise as Stockpiles Rebuilt (Update4)

By Xiao Yu and Xiaowei Li

Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's largest copper consumer, may rebuild stockpiles as prices of the metal drop, boosting imports, according to a survey yesterday of seven analysts, traders and processors.

Prices of $5,100 a ton may prompt renewed imports by Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Inc., said Lu Chenghong, a trading manager at the world's biggest maker of copper tubing. China's purchases overseas would ``pick up considerably'' in the coming months, he said.

Prices have slumped 36 percent from all-time highs touched in May amid concern growth in the U.S., the world's second- largest user, is cooling, reducing demand for the metal, especially in housing. Shipments of refined copper into China declined 36 percent from January to November last year compared with 2005, according to data from the nation's customs office.

``Common Chinese wisdom is rather than buying when prices are going up, to buy when they are going down,'' said Li Zhifeng, a trading manager at the copper unit of the nation's biggest metals trader, China Minmetals Nonferrous Metals Co. Still, Chinese companies may wait till the prices drop still further before making substantial purchases, Li said.

Copper futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the nation's benchmark contract, touched a record 84,100 yuan ($10,775) a ton on May 15. Since then, they've tumbled 35 percent to settle at 54,250 yuan today. Chinese prices include 17 percent value-added tax and 2 percent import duty.

`Close to Zero'

``Our inventories are close to zero, and most other processing plants are in a similar condition,'' said Zhang Xuefeng, head of futures trading at Chinalco Luoyang Copper Co.

On the London Metal Exchange, the world's largest such bourse, three-month futures touched a record $8,800 a ton on May 15. They ended at $5,625 a ton yesterday, 36 percent below their peak and down 11 percent this year.

The volume of London Metal Exchange stockpiles bought and due for delivery, referred to as canceled warrants, has almost tripled since Jan. 3 to 17,225 tons, with most increases from Asian warehouses. Most of the canceled warrants are bound for China, said Golden Dragon's Lu, who added that importers now benefited from profit margins of about 2,000 yuan a ton.

Copper processors in China used more than 250,000 tons of the metal that was stockpiled at their plants or warehouses last year, according to Yang Changhua, an analyst at Beijing Antaike Information Development Co., which advises the government on industry policies.

Rising Demand

Demand may rise to 4 million tons in 2007 from 3.8 million tons last year as China maintains strong economic growth and builds more power grids and other infrastructure, Yang said. Copper is used in air-conditioners, electric wires and cables.

The nation's economy may expand 9.8 percent in 2007, according to a Dec. 22 report by the Chinese central bank's research unit. The economy may have grown 10.5 percent last year, it said, fueled by rising investment in roads and buildings.

Chinese buyers may return to the market after Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb. 18, to meet an expected seasonal rebound in demand that starts in March, said Chris Ding, a metals analyst at China International Capital Corp., in Beijing.

Copper prices may fluctuate between $4,500 and $6,500 a ton this year, and increased buying from China may help prices move toward the higher end of that range, Ding said.

Inventories of copper in Shanghai have almost halved since the start of 2006 as users drew down stockpiles as imports fell, according to data from the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

At the same time, China's imports of scrap copper in the first 11 months of 2006 rose 1.2 percent to 4.5 million tons. Scrap copper is recycled to make copper products, and can be used as a substitute for copper concentrate, the raw material that's used to make refined copper.

To contact the reporters on this story: Xiao Yu in Beijing at [e-mail] ; Xiaowei Li in Shanghai at [e-mail]

Last Updated: January 10, 2007 02:48 EST

[sumisu]

China's Copper Imports Down 35.8% in First 11 Months

By David Harman

19 Dec 2006 at 08:16 AM EST

SHANGHAI (Interfax-China) -- China imported 585,190 tonnes refined copper and copper alloy in the first 11 months, down 35.8% from last year, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs last Friday.

Refined copper and copper alloy exports surged 132.5% to 243,291 tonnes in the first 11 months was in part due to exports by the State Reserves Bureau to settle short positions on the London Metal Exchange (LME), Li Yusheng, analyst with Antaike Information in Beijing, said.

China, the world's largest copper consumer, used about 3.6 million tonnes of copper last year, a year-on-year increase of 9%. Its copper import accounted for around 45% of its demand.

According to England-based World Bureau, the decline in China's consumption brought about a global surplus of 306,000 tonnes in the first 10 months of the year.

Total world copper usage gained about 1.6%. Production rose 6% from a year ago to 14.5 million tonnes, while mine output dropped to 12.2 million tonnes.

Copper for delivery in February fell 770 yuan, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 62,880 yuan ($8,037) a tonne, the lowest level since Nov. 22, on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The contract has dropped 25 percent since May 15 when it touched record high of 84,100 yuan.

Commentary

[CONTINUED IN FOLLOWING LINK]

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=27320

[sumisu]

Terra Nostra Announces Completion of Second Phase Construction and Expansion of Stainless Steel Mill

Saturday December 16, 8:08 am ET

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Terra Nostra Resources Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: TNRO - News), www.tnr-corp.com, is pleased to announce the successful completion of production trials for the stainless steel strip rolling mill and the expanded casting mill at Shandong Quanxin Stainless Steel Co. Ltd., its 51% owned joint venture company in China.

The new 150,000 metric tonne (MT) rolling mill has commenced production, and is operating at design specifications, meeting all quality standards. The casting mill, which produces feedstock for the rolling mill, is now capable of operating at a peak capacity rate of 230,000 MT per annum, an increase of 50,000 MT from the original design specifications, as a result of the successful upgrade to the mill's three Electric Arc Furnaces.

Don Nicholson, President and CEO, after completing a site inspection last week, commented, "We are very pleased with the results of both the rolling mill commissioning and the casting mill upgrade. The facility is now capable of achieving production rates in accordance with the Company's marketing plans."

About Terra Nostra Resources Corporation

Terra Nostra is one of the leading copper producers in China through its 51% interest in Shandong Terra Nostra Jinpeng Metallurgical Co. Ltd., which has an existing and under construction production capacity of 170,000 MT of electrolytic copper, 20,000 MT of low-oxygen copper, and value-added copper rod and wire facilities. Terra Nostra is also emerging as a leading stainless steel producer in China through its 51% interest in Shandong Quanxin Stainless Steel Co. Ltd., a modern stainless steel production facility that commenced operations in early 2006 with a now expanded 230,000 MT casting mill, and a recently commissioned 150,000 MT rolling mill. The two joint venture companies, with total assets exceeding US$ 200 million and having over 800 employees, are located in the highly industrialized coastal province of Shandong, midway between Beijing and Shanghai. More information on the company can be found at: http://www.tnr-corp.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements with respect to expectations concerning (i) projects underway or under consideration, including production capacity and completion schedules; (ii) business and future potential of Terra Nostra Resources Corporation ("TNR"); (iii) estimates or implications of future earnings, and the sensitivity of earnings to metals prices; (iv) estimates of future metals production and sales; (v) estimates of future cash flows, and the sensitivity of cash flows to the other metals and ore costs as well as, but not limited to, fluctuations in fuel prices, scrap prices, and the availability of both, are all forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.. Further risks, uncertainties and other factors, which affect the forward-looking statements included herein, and could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, completion of TNR's capital contributions to the joint venture companies, working capital financing, metals price volatility, competition for projects, reserve acquisition costs, currency fluctuations, international economic uncertainty, sovereign risk, force majeure, changes in tax law or concession law, project scheduling delays, labor disputes, increased production costs and variances in ore grade, scrap grade or recovery rates from those assumed in production plans, political and operational risks in the countries in which TNR may operate and governmental regulation and judicial outcomes, and other risks detailed from time to time in TNR's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended August, 2006. Copies of each filing may be obtained from TNR or the SEC. Furthermore, metals operation, by their very nature, entail cyclical, sectoral, and commodity risk and could expose an investor to the entire loss of all capital invested. TNR does not undertake any obligation to publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.




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Source: Terra Nostra Resources Corporation

[sumisu]

Northern Orion Files 43-101 Report on Agua Rica Feasibility Study Update

Friday December 15, 7:33 pm ET

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(MARKET WIRE)--Dec 15, 2006 -- Northern Orion (TSX:NNO.TO - News)(AMEX:NTO - News) is pleased to announce that it has filed its 43-101 report on the Feasibility Study Update of its 100% owned Agua Rica copper-gold-molybdenum project. The full report is available on the Company's website at: http://www.northernorion.com.
David Cohen, President and CEO

Contact:
Contacts:
Northern Orion Resources Inc.
Investor Relations
1-866-608-9970
Email: [e-mail]
Website: http://www.northernorion.com



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Source: Northern Orion Resources Inc.

[sumisu]

Credit Suisse: Copper Prices Should Rise On New Chinese Demand

http://gold.seekingalpha.com/article/20962