COMMERCIAL Mount Isa Shares Nearing Peak

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30955, 11 January 1966, Page 15

COMMERCIAL Mount Isa Shares Nearing Peak

(N.Z. Prcst Association—Copyright)

SYDNEY, January 10.

XX orld copper prices have risen to record levels, and Mount Isa Alines share prices are close to their all-time peak of 48s 6d, says the Svdney “Sun-Herald.”

It added: “This is a remarkebie recovery from a stock which last year, at the depth of the seven and a half month strike, looked “grossly overpriced’’ at 335. “But the market was downcast then by the reasonable iat that time) . assumptions that the strike would force the company to pass its dividend for 1964-65 and delay its development programme by 28 months to two years. “As it turned out, Mount Isa maintained its 10 per cent dividend for the year after a remarkably fast recovery tc fall mine production, and has suffered only minor delays in the fulfilment of its expansion programme. “One of the largest single Items in the expansion plan —the No. 2 concentrator—ori ginally due to be completed late in 1965, is now expected

:-'to be commissioned during k March to give a delay of not 1 j more than four or five months, a j “But the main influencing ■-1 factor that nobody could know iat the time was the Austra-i-1 lian producers’ price of copper e would jump by 28 per cent s in the succeeding 10 months e to add better than £lom an-i-'nually to the value of Auss tralian copper output. 8 “Last Wednesday’s £4O rise Ito a record of £435 a ton in t. the Australian producers’ t price of virgin copper now a I brings the price £l3O above oithe level of two years ago to si give copper a bright, new n lustre in Australian mining,” i-1 says the report. Another Rise? ® j “Setting of a new peak price n i of £575 for spot copper on ’’ | the London Metal Exchange ? i last Thursday carries the pos- £ I sibility that a further increase _ could be ahead in the proll ducers' price. 1 “But this the more responI sible producers would no ■ I doubt stoutly resist. Already [the boss of the giant British ■ Insulated Calendar's Cables, ■ of the United Kingdom, has ■ I noted an increase in use of ■ aluminium in his giant group's BI products. | “As well as underwriting lithe development programmes ■ I being carried out by Mount 1 i Isa, Mount Lyell and Cobar ■ Mines, present price levels inll crease the development possiI .bilities of unexploited fields. _ j “Broken Hill South, whose k i decision to reopen and dell velop the old C.S.A. mine at II Cobar, in inland New South ■ Wales, has now proved to be ■ a remarkable piece of timing, ■I is likely to step up its exploitation at Manmantoo, in SI South Australia, and at the S'Mutooroo mine prospect.”