Antofagasta Share Discussion Threads

[grgkecer] 04/6/2009 07:41

Fronm The Santiago Times:

TWENTY GEOTHERMIC ZONES UP FOR GRABS IN CHILE
Thursday, 04 June 2009
Already About US$100 Million Worth Of Investments
Chile's Mining Ministry announced on this week a tender for 20 geothermal exploration concessions as part of an effort to encourage foreign investment and expand Chile's energy options.

El Tatio Geyser field near San Pedro de Atacama in Region II is one of Chile's geothermal hot spots. Photo by Natalie Muller

Thus far, no geothermal power plants have been built in Chile, something the government hopes will change with the announcement of the new concessions.
The geothermic zones up for grabs total about 766,800 hectares around the country, and most of them can be found in the north, where 90 percent of the energy is imported. The largest block is the 92,400 hectares of Tuyajto 1, near the northern town of San Pedro de Atacama in Region II.
Mining Minister Santiago Gonzalez said the announcement was "a new and important step for the country." Tapping into Chile's geothermal energy supply, he said, could provide energy security in the future and reduce the nation's heavy dependence on imported energy. Chile currently relies largely on coal-powered electricity, and has yet to explore its geothermal potential.
As an alternative source of electricity, geothermal energy is considered to be cost effective in the long term and environmentally friendly - it uses the steam from water heated by underground hot rocks to fuel a generator. It is also renewable and widely available in Chile thanks to frequent volcanic activity.
Several private energy companies have already voiced their interest in exploring Chile's geothermal potential. United States-based company GeoGlobal Energy plans ultimately to invest US$1.5 billion in 500 megawatts of geothermal capacity in Chile. Their initial research at the San Gregorio geothermal fields in Chile´s Region IX showed
temperatures of 275 degrees centigrade in March, the highest ever registered in Chile. The company is considering constructing a 75 megawatt plant, which would produce enough electricity to meet the energy needs of Temuco and Valdivia in Chile's south.
The National Geothermal Company (ENG), a joint venture between Chile's state oil and gas company Empresa National del Petroleo and Italian company Enel SpA, are also interested in Chile's geothermal future. In May they invested US$25 million into underground investigations in Calabozo (Region VII), Tatio (Region II) and Chillan (Region VIII) to assess the (feasibility of constructing geothermal electricity plants in these areas.
Only 25 concessions for geothermal exploration have been granted since the year 2000. Gonzalez said putting forward the 20 zones for exploration was an important opportunity for the country.
"Given the interest that the development of geothermal energy has generated in our country...we could reach a much greater number [of concessions] in the near future," he said.
But developing a geothermal project is a risky business with high costs: expensive investigations into geothermal potential need to be carried out both above and under ground. Constructing wells in the exploratory phase to test the geothermal power potential can cost millions of dollars. And then there are the costs of building the actual power plant to produce the electricity. Each megawatt produced by a geothermal plant requires an estimated investment of around US$1 million.
Gonzalez acknowledges that only a few companies are in a position to cope with the risk and high costs involved. "In the applications processed so far, there are about US$100 million involved in the investment for exploration alone," said Gonzalez. "To certify these concessions [including the constructions of any geothermal power plants] investments would reach more than US$1 billion." The Mining Minister said the government was looking into ways to promote investment into geothermal energy.
One of the solutions put forward by the National Energy Commission to make investment more attractive is for the State share the risk in the final exploration stage through a subsidy or insurance plan. The subsidy would apply, for example, if
the wells did not produce the anticipated energy amounts.
The Ministry will receive bids for the 20 geothermal zones through July 31.
SOURCE: LA NACION, WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Natalie Muller ([e-mail])

From the Annual Report:

The Group also signed exploration agreements
to acquire interests in two prospecting licences
in Zambia as well as an interest in the Río Figueroa
deposit in Chile. It also formed a joint-venture in
which it has a 60% interest with Empresa Nacional
del Petróleo (the Chilean state-owned oil company)
through a newly-created vehicle, Energía Andina S.A.,
to explore for geothermal energy resources in Chile
given structural shortages in the country's energy
market. It is continuing with an active target
generation programme to identify further
opportunities.

[lundhousegreen] 26/5/2009 07:17

SINGAPORE -(Dow Jones)- Copper mine supply could struggle to match forecast demand growth in the period to 2013, Macquarie Bank said in a report dated Tuesday.

The bank said copper demand was expected to be 4 million metric tons higher in 2013 than 2009, implying that a significant number of new mine projects will need to come onstream to balance the market.

[elssworth] 20/5/2009 15:39

Can't believe in the present climate these are trading over £2.40!
Its only a matter of time before the hammer comes down on the whole mining sector for a price correction.

[thebull3] 12/5/2009 21:17

www.britishbulls.com confirmed anto as a sell today

[saltaire111] 12/5/2009 20:42

Nil...

But then again, everything's easy with hindsight...

[aalli] 08/5/2009 10:30

what are the chances of anto above closing above 630? any thoughts highly appreciated.

[mrminister] 08/5/2009 08:21

back on track.......nice

[saltaire111] 07/5/2009 16:39

What a bloody awful day. Everything great and then BANG!

Very unhappy...

[saltaire111] 07/5/2009 13:29

Copper price is soaring yet ANTO flat as a fart!

WHy are we not motoring?

[lundhousegreen] 06/5/2009 11:06

Rest of the year's announcement calendar.


May 6 Ex Dividend Date for 2008 Final Dividend
May 8 Record Date for 2008 Final Dividend
May 13 Sterling Rate for 2008 Final Dividend
May 28 Quarterly Financial Report - Q1 2009
Jun 10 Annual General Meeting
Jun 11 Payment Date for 2008 Final Dividend
Jul 30 Quarterly Production Report - Q2 2009
Aug 26 Interim Results Announcement - Half Year 2009
Sep 16 Ex Dividend Date for 2009 Interim Dividend
Sep 18 Record Date for 2009 Interim Dividend
Sep 23 Sterling Rate for 2009 Interim Dividend
Oct 8 Payment Date for 2009 Interim Dividend
Nov 3 Quarterly Production Report - Q3 2009
Nov 26 Quarterly Financial Report - Q3 2009

[saltaire111] 06/5/2009 09:09

Did we go XD this morning. Is that the reason for the big drop?

[lundhousegreen] 29/4/2009 15:45

Quarterly Production report tomorrow. Interims 26th August.

[wrightey] 29/4/2009 12:18

Interims Tomorrow so lets have some action.

[grgkecer] 28/4/2009 07:02

SOLAR CONTRACTS IN THE WORKS WITH MINING GIANTS
Tuesday, 28 April 2009

The future is bright for solar power in Chile following a summit in San
Francisco, California, last weekend where officials from the National
Energy Commission (CNE) moved towards establishing long-term contracts
between two prospective solar projects and the country's three largest
mining firms.
The CNE is currently negotiating with a number of mining firms in northern Chile to establish contracts for solar power from two plants slated to be built over the next three years. Negotiations are most advanced with BHP Billiton, Collahuasi, and Antofagasta Minerals, the three largest mining firms in Chile.
The discussions took place at the summit titled "Promoting the Development of Solar Projects in Chile" in the U.S. Attendees included representatives from Endesa and AES Gener, two of Chile's largest energy producers, as well as mining company officials and Minister of Energy, Marcelo Tokman.
Long-term contracts to sell electricity after construction could help attract funding to the solar projects and help them to compete in the marketplace once they become operational. "We hope to compete effectively, and the ability to count on a secure demand for this energy will make this possible," said Tokman.
CNE officials said that negotiations with the three major mining companies now only required the approval of the directors of each company.
The two solar plants to be built in northern Chile will be located near the sites of many of the country's largest mines. One plant will use photovoltaic cell technology and have a capacity of around 1 megawatt, and the other will use concentrated solar thermal technology to achieve a capacity of up to 10 MW.
Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight directly to electricity and are the most widely deployed technology in "distributed
generation" schemes that aim to generate electricity from many sources in incremental amounts by installing panels on the rooftops of homes and businesses. Solar thermal plants use mirrors to turn sunlight into heat, and then use the heat to produce electricity in industrial
quantities by running conventional turbines.
The CNE will open an international bid in the second half of the year to find companies to install the plants. Officials expect that selections should be complete by the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010. The photovoltaic plant could begin operation as early as 2011, and the thermal plant by 2012.
SOURCES: EL MERCURIO
By Chris Battey ([e-mail])

[lundhousegreen] 19/4/2009 18:00

Will-copper-outshine-gold-and-silver?
All the talk of metal investing in recent months has focused on the safe-haven and inflation hedge of gold. Yet other metals, notably copper and silver, have been starting to attract investor attention too............

[grgkecer] 06/4/2009 08:47

The Santiago Times:

CHILE AND BOLIVIA REACH SILALA RIVER AGREEMENT
Monday, 06 April 2009
Chilean Businesses Will Pay For Use Of 50 Percent Of Silala's Waters

. . .

Van Klaveren said the two principal businesses to pay for use of the waters will be state-owned copper mining company Codelco and Antofagasta Bolivia Railways. He did not specify how much money will be paid or the potential tariff level for the Chilean companies.

. . .

[fast investor] 31/3/2009 11:39

Lovely uptrend channel in place on Antofagasta anto with the share price now on the base line and moving back upwards towards the channel top.

Secondarty indicator Stochs looks like its giving a buy signal aswell due to the stock being oversold.

Resistance at around 610p......

[lundhousegreen] 27/3/2009 14:50

free stock charts from www.advfn.com



Anto has been on an upward trend since October. The chart has moved forward in an upwards rectangular channel, and has progressed positively. IMO the indicators would suggest a breakout could be possible, with resistance at 600p.

[diku] 23/3/2009 13:50

This could sharply snap back tp 400p...No Advice Intended....some of these miners look well over bought...

[colinio] 12/3/2009 13:47

Am short from 4.98 if 5.00 fails to hold next resistance is 4.75 then it's down to 4.11 where profits will be taken.

[arja] 12/3/2009 12:48

ironic that RBS issue a sell note for ANTO !!