Antofagasta Share Discussion Threads

[grgkecer] 14/5/2008 14:06

Rain in Chile

Chile, the source of about 35 percent of world copper mine output, may get enough rain in the next week to reduce the risk of power rationing to mines in the central provinces, according to Patricio Silva, a forecaster at the state-run Chilean Weather Survey.

The rainfall would help replenish hydroelectric reservoirs suffering from a period of below-average precipitation, Silva said. Antofagasta Plc, Anglo American Plc, Chilean state-owned Codelco and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. own copper mines in the region.

May 14 (Bloomberg)

[nazim133] 08/5/2008 15:21

aspers

Sorry to say you got it wrong, we're currently up 5%

700 is not the time to buy, around 660-670 is

[aspers] 07/5/2008 22:21

I will be back in when it touches 700p.....thats the way this share goes, steady rise above 800 then quick fall back below 700, then is the time to buy!!

[nazim133] 07/5/2008 20:24

What a dreadful day for Anto today.

For those of you who don't know the reason why:



I didn't know it was ex Div today.

Well it's best to hold on and ride it out. However the ftse could fall further tomorrow cos the Dow is down.

[slogsweep] 07/5/2008 13:06

Any idea why the drop thought it was just ex d but too much for that - other miners are down now so perhaps profit taking; don't have copper price

[nazim133] 07/4/2008 18:14

Anto has been climbing fast the past two weeks along with other miners.

I fear the Bubble might burst soon but no idea when. I think once we've passed £8 I will start thinking about selling.

[aspers] 02/4/2008 13:04

I feel this looks good for a recovery back towards 800p, any thoughts on that?? I tend to day trade but may stay aboard for a nice recovery above 750 at the leats!

[grgkecer] 01/4/2008 12:35

MEJILLONES PORT EXPANSION
Tuesday, 01 April 2008



The port of Mejillones in the Northern Chile is set to expand
Photo courtesy of Puerto Angamos.


Officials from Region II's Mejillones Port (CPM) recently disclosed plans to become northern Chile's largest cargo port by 2011. Investment by the business conglomerate, Ultramar (Grupo Von Appen), construction contractor Belfi, and Great North Port Investments will finance the sea port's growth.



The associates, who assumed control of the port in 1999, and have been operating under the name Puerto Angamos, will add a terminal for dry goods. This structure, which will open in 2011, represents a US$75 million investment.

Another Puerto Angamos addition will be a liquid bulk terminal, slated for completion by 2010, which will require an investment of US$100 million. Alvaro Arroyo, general manager of CPM, said the agreement has already been made and contracts will be signed in this month.

Additionally, last Friday, Puerto Angamos and the Virginia-based AES Gerner signed an agreement that will allow the unloading of limestone and carbon for the Angamos thermal electricity center, which would supply nearby mines owned by the Australian giant BHP Billington with electric energy.

Arroy said, "We are very happy. In 2011 we'll be able to consider Angamos a true sea port complex, with three terminals for different types of cargo, and various operators."

In 2011 the port is predicted to move 2.1 billion tons of cargo, a considerable increase from the 1.8 billion tons the port transported in 2007.

SOURCE: LA TERCERA
By Rebecca Argo


This seems to contradict ANTO's 2006 Final Results statement (and have an adverse effect on Antofagasta Port operations):

Port Operations – Chile

Antofagasta Terminal Internacional S.A. (ATI)
(30 per cent owned)

The port of Antofagasta, which is currently being
expanded, is operated by ATI under a 30 year
concession. Antofagasta, which is the principal
port in northern Chile, has been designated as a
dry cargo port as opposed to the port of Mejillones
which will in the future handle concentrates and
other bulk cargo.
ATI, which is a strategic investment for FCAB, has
contributed positively to the results of the transport
division since its acquisition in December 2004.

[grgkecer] 26/3/2008 08:27

GROUND BROKEN FOR NEW LIQUID NATURAL GAS PLANT
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
French utility company Suez and Chile's state-owned copper company CODELCO broke ground Tuesday for a new liquid natural gas plant, located in the Region II town of Mejillones. During the ceremony, President Michelle Bachelet emphasized that once plant opens in 2010, it will supply 20 percent of northern Chile's energy.



According to company plans, the plant, known as GNL Mejillones S.A , will provide up to 5.5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. The structure will also pump roughly 1,100 megawatts (MW) into Chile's northern power grid, known as the Norte Grande Interconnected System (SING). In total, more than US$500 million has been invested in the initiative.

"(With this plant) northern Chile's entire mining sector will not only be able to keep on producing, but it will also be able to generate new projects that allow Chile to keep on developing. This is a project that I have been pushing for since the start of my government, and I am very happy that it is now a reality," said Bachelet.

"We are going to keep on working to diversify the country's energy matrix...we are not going to relent on our drive for sustainable development. We are not going to relent on our drive for immediate answers to our current energy shortage," she said.

Still, in many ways, the government has little choice but to diversify.

Chile is heavily dependent on foreign suppliers for its national energy consumption, and recent cuts in the shipment of natural gas from Argentina – coupled with low water levels in the country's hydroelectric reservoirs due to a severe summer drought – have caused a looming energy crisis in 2008.

The government has taken steps in recent weeks to encourage both electricity utilities and consumers to save electricity, while at the same time warning that electricity rationing is possible in the coming months.

The plan also includes measures to use diesel fuel as a temporary source of electricity, despite the higher cost and greater environmental impact of generating with diesel.

But critics argue that alternative renewable sources, which include solar, wind and geothermic power, need to be the priority in Chile. Although interest in developing the sector has grown of late, the country's installed renewable energy capacity pales in comparison to the world's leaders (ST, March 7).

By Matt Malinowski

[grgkecer] 23/3/2008 10:57

Not just in South Africa:

MINE COMPANIES MAY BAIL OUT GASATACAMA
Thursday, 20 March 2008


Officials from Chile's state-owned mining company CODELCO and the Australian mining giant BHP Billington said this week that they may give emergency funds to electricity generator GasAtacama, which is currently on the brink of bankruptcy.



According to the Chilean business journal Diario Financiero, the deal would involve CODELCO and BHP Billington paying US$650 million towards absolving GasAtacama's current debt. The mining company funds would also be used in order to guarantee GasAtacama's electricity supplies to such northern cities as Arica, Iquique, and Antofagasta.

"We are very close to reaching a deal," a CODELCO official told Diario Financiero.

GasAtacama is one of the leading energy suppliers to Chile's northern power grid, known as the Norte Grande Interconnected System (SING). Still, the company has been hit hard by last winter's natural gas cuts from Argentina and, more recently, by seismic activity. A major earthquake in November, 2007 knocked out the company's Atacama generator for more than 40 hours, and aftershocks in December, 2007 and January, 2008 produced similar consequences.

Complicating matters further, Argentina announced earlier this month that it will increase taxes on gas shipments going to Chile. Analysts say that the higher taxes will most likely be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices (ST, March 12).

BHP Billington, which operates the Escondida, Cerro Colorado, and Spence mines, is GasAtacama's principal client.

CODELCO does not conduct business with the electricity provider. Still, CODELCO officials fear that GasAtacama's continued financial instability could have ripple effects in other energy generators, eventually jeopardizing CODELCO's own energy supplies.

By Matt Malinowski

[mrtravels] 11/3/2008 13:11

Meanwhile the banks are moving. I had a £6 bet on Llloyds, by the way, sort of hedging everything else. Do you spread bet? (The Llloyds brough me, thus far today £120 of free money, so to speak)

[aspers] 11/3/2008 12:03

good move, looks like there is the drop for you to get back aboard!!

[mrtravels] 11/3/2008 11:45

I took out my 719 at 739 - free money. I can now go back if it drops or wait for the other 2/3rds of the play to rise above 760

[aspers] 11/3/2008 11:24

Tempting to sell at a loss then get back in if it falls....my luck though it would not fall and only continue to rise, should have put the HHR money here as HHR now down 3%..!!!! Think I am just going to ride it out till back above 800, hopefully soon!!

[mrtravels] 11/3/2008 10:08

I have broken away from the notion of averaging and look at each 'averaging' purchase as a separate item. This gives one the freedom to buy and sell without waiting for something which might not happen. You take out a profit and leave in an investment. Buying for ex div has little future in it because the moment the div gets paid the share drops pro rata. This does not mean I do not do exactly the same thing. However I now ignore dividends and have sometimes done better in the short time by selling JUST BEFORE XD! And thus taken the dividend which was wrapped in the share price.

Sweating... ANTO now up 20 p more than I paid .... no - let greed rule fear today and wait.

[aspers] 11/3/2008 09:16

Mrt....Me too was going to average my holding down by buying at 712 but decided to top up my HHR holding instead.....looks at the moment this now at 730 and could go higher!!, my average is 788 so looks like I will be hanging around for a week or so, was hoping to use the money to buy HBOS before ex day 2moro!! Good luck with your deals!!

[mrtravels] 11/3/2008 09:10

Damn lost my nerve and did not go in at 711 when the opportunity was there, but did so at 719, then sweated. I igured (fooled myself) into believing that 711ish was the bottom. It is 9.10... let's see what horror or joy lies ahead. Results are sound rather than spectacular, but there is a good future ahead I think.

[aspers] 11/3/2008 07:57

Lets hope we see a recovery on the mine stocks from today....results from ANTO not too bad with a good posative view for the year to come!!...good luck to all

[mrtravels] 10/3/2008 13:47

I agree. The key is not to panic.

Copper has dropped today from 392 (not quite sure what this means - $ per llb or what, but I just go by the figure) to 377. I think this is due to the general malaise surrounding home starts. However I am convinced that the powerhouses of India and China are a huge hedge against the little local difficulties of the West.

I am only spread betting with ANTO at the moment, and that on a low level due to overexposure of my account... but if ANTO dips to below 700 I shall go in big time, selling elsewhere to do it. I have no doubt at all that ANTO will head north a lot in the coming days/weeks. People reading this, of course, will grin ear to ear at us if we have it wrong. At least we shall not be alone even if there are only two of us... but if it rises!!!! Yeah.

[aspers] 10/3/2008 13:09

MrT....I bought a few more today at 750 to average down to 780....hold a fair chunk now and am hopeing for a jump tommorrow!! the sad fact is I bought this last year at 450 but sold a few days later as I needed funds elsewhere. as you say a great day trade share if you pick it right, as for the fall other mine shares have taken the same drop so nothing in particular with this I fear........soon be back above 800 me thinks....and hopes!!!!

[mrtravels] 10/3/2008 11:50

Hey aspers.... I have just taken a look at the chart for the last 8 years and if charts come anywhere near a prediction worthyness... ANTO is set for pushing 1000 in the next year to 18 months. The EPS jumped a couple of years ago from 9p to 70p - no idea why, must be M and A, have not researched - and the prediction for last year is 72. Preliminary results tomorrow. If the 72 is exceeded, and I think it will be because of copper prices then we might witness a leap. This will especially be the case during the week if the whole market bounces and that is due too... if for no other reason than technical. If ever there was a share to keep buying on the way down then this is it. Hang on, and add as it goes down, that is my strategy.