No Uranium? Molybdenum Will Do
By Resource Investor & Canadian Press
18 Mar 2005 at 04:21 PM EST
MIAMI (ResourceInvestor.com) -- Investors are showing as strong an appetite for molybdenum as uranium lately. Just lately Australian mining magnate Andew Forrest secured financing for his Hibernia Gold Ltd to build a major moly mine in the country; the Spinifex Ridge project in the Western Australia's Pilbara region.
Latest on the boom bandwagon are Toronto venture listings Goldrea Resources and Molycor Gold. The two announced on Friday that they were reviewing jointly held properties with moly mineralization.
That put both stocks into orbit with Goldrea (TSXV:GOR) shares gaining seven cents, (25%), to 35 cents and Molycor (TSXV:MOR) was up a cent, (+6%), to 16 cents.
The two companies are equal partners in Tadpole Lake, about 25 kilometres northwest of Kelowna, and the Crowrea property near Summerland.
Molybdenum, primarily employed in the hardening of steel, but used in other alloys as well as in petroleum industry applications, has risen steadily from about $3.50 US per pound in 2002 to about $35.50.
After consulting with geologists and engineers, the companies said they "have decided to re-examine and evaluate the Tadpole Lake and the Crowrea Moly project" and are planning a $500,000 Cdn diamond-drill testing program at Tadpole Lake.
Molybdenum prices are at their highest in nearly a third of a century and reports are emerging of a scramble to secure supplies after decades of underinvestment in exploration.
The soaring prices were a fillip for Chile's Codelco, the world's number one copper miner, with moly contributing about $1 billion in by-product profits in 2004. Codelco had a record year with a $3.3 billion pre-tax profit, an increase of 444% over 2003, on revenues of $8.2 billion. Compatriot Antofagasta also relied on moly for its exceptional financial results of 2004 that turned in a net profit of $445 million compared with $114 million in 2003. Antofagasta received $20/lb for its molybdenum in 2004, up from $5.5/lb a year earlier.
Other recent moly news came from CNQ listed Roxmark Mines Limited [RMKL] which is modifying a mill to treat gold and molybdenum that it plans to mine at its Nortoba-Tyson property that is currently being explored.
Toronto venture listing Mercator Minerals [ML] last week announced a copper-moly resource containing 1.3 billion pounds of copper and 330 million pounds of moly based on a copper price of $1.4975/lb and a moly price of $28.50/lb.
Cash is King until further notice!!!
My comments on companies are usually my opinion of long term success (years). The PPS may go up or down greatly in the meantime depending on the number of greedy suckers with money.
