RE: FT article17 Oct 2018 22:31
Here it is AKG.
BHP copper bottomed.
A note to junior miners on how to turn copper into gold. The world’s biggest miner, BHP Billiton, is paying £45m for 5 per cent of SolGold, one of the world’s smallest, writes Kate Burgess. That is a whopping 30 per cent premium for a stake that barely gives it bragging rights, let alone control, over SolGold. BHP has also agreed not to launch a bid or lift its stake beyond 11 per cent, for two years. The deal sets it squarely against Aussie rival Newcrest, owner of 14.5 per cent, but leaves SolGold free to explore its Ecuadorean jungle acres.
You have to applaud the tiddler. Junior miners do not often best the majors — as SolGold knows having suffered when Newmont pulled out of a partnership six years ago. That forced it to focus on its Ecuadorean interests long before they were fashionable.
Now, though, copper is the new gold in a world of renewable energy and electric cars. There is about 30kg of copper in every Toyota Prius. A wind turbine needs 3 tonnes of the stuff. Demand is forecast to double over two decades and the pipeline in new projects is shrinking. Everyone wants a piece of the action. And it seems Ecuador has world-class deposits and SolGold the rights to large chunks of them. Rarely do things work so well for junior miners. SolGold is determined to make the most of it. While it lasts.