Fantastic news for CRHL ;-))30 Sep 2011 19:16
http://www.lse.co.uk/share-regulatory-news.asp?shareprice=CRHL&ArticleCode=1t9p7w1p&ArticleHeadline=Exploration_Update__Drilling_at_Tenth_Legion
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-30/zinc-output-may-rise-in-japan-to-meet-post-quake-demand.html
(Updates zinc price in eighth paragraph.)
Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s zinc output will climb in 2012 as smelters run at full capacity to meet recovering demand from the auto and construction industries after the earthquake and tsunami, amid a forecast for a global deficit.
The world’s third-biggest economy is expected to produce 590,000 metric tons of refined metal next year, 8.5 percent more than 2010, said Nobuyuki Nakamoto, general manager at Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co.’s zinc business. Demand may increase 5.5 percent to 540,000 tons in 2012, he said.
A gain in global demand for the metal, used to galvanize steel, may help prices recover from a 14-month low on Sept. 26 and benefit producers such as Korea Zinc Co., Nyrstar NV and Teck Resources Ltd. The metal has declined 20 percent this year. Demand will exceed supply by 106,000 tons in 2012 from a surplus of 178,000 tons in 2011, according to Macquarie Group Ltd.
“Domestic consumption will rise next year for rebuilding and following a full recovery in car output,” Nakamoto said in an interview yesterday. In the three months to December, Japan’s automakers are expected to increase production to make up for losses in April to June following the disaster, he said.
Production by steelmakers has recovered close to the level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. pushed the world into recession, Nakamoto said, citing the company’s recent survey in the sector.
Japan was Asia’s third-biggest zinc consumer after China and South Korea in 2010, according to the International Lead & Zinc Study Group. Demand was 516,000 tons last year, 4 percent of the world’s 12.6 million tons.
Supply Deficit
The metal will average $2,310 a ton in 2011 and $2,425 in 2012, Michael Widmer, head of metals research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London, wrote in a report on Sept. 27. Widmer was the second-most accurate forecaster for the metal for the eight consecutive quarters ended March 31, according to Bloomberg data.
Zinc for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange climbed 1.7 percent to $1,957 a ton at 4:50 p.m. Tokyo time.
The market will see a deficit next year from a moderate surplus this year with solid demand from the construction sector, recent drops in refined production and declining unreported stockpiles in China, analysts at Macquarie, including Duncan Hobbs in London, wrote in a report on Sept. 26.
Physical market prices signal steady metal premiums at high levels and falling treatment charges for concentrates, Macquarie said. The metal will stay within a range of $2,000 to $2,500 a ton over the next six to 12 months, the