I know I am about to post an article about a competitor. Still some of the info within this article talks about the precious metal affecting us and it is of course Molybdenum and its price:
Thompson Creek Sees Higher Molybdenum Price, Seeks Acquisitions
By Stewart Bailey
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Thompson Creek Metals Co., the world's fifth-largest molybdenum producer, said it is hunting acquisitions to boost output because shortages of the metal may keep prices high.
``We're anxious to do a deal,'' Chief Executive Officer Kevin Loughrey said today. ``There's some value to having critical mass, there's some value to having more operations, so we'd like to grow in that sense.''
Thompson Creek, based in Toronto, is looking for undeveloped molybdenum deposits as well as ``more developed'' properties, Loughrey said in an interview in New York, without specifying any targets. While the company favors acquisitions in North America, where it has a mine in Canada and another in the U.S., it won't rule out other regions, he said.
Molybdenum, used to strengthen steel pipes and oil drills, has jumped more than fivefold since early 2004 as energy companies boosted production amid surging fuel prices. Loughrey estimates that 18 million pounds a year of new molybdenum production will be needed to keep up with his ``conservative'' estimate of a 4 percent annual increase in demand.
That rate will be difficult to achieve as project- development costs rise and mining permits become harder to obtain, he said. Mining companies will find it challenging in the current credit market to use future molybdenum production as collateral for loans, given that there is no futures market for the metal, he said.
``There's the question of financing projects for a metal you can't hedge,'' Loughrey said. ``It's very difficult to see where that metal is going to come from.''
Already this year, two molybdenum miners have experienced delays in securing loans for new mines. White Rock, Canada- based Adanac Molybdenum Corp. suspended work on its $650 million Ruby Creek mine on Jan. 28. Perth, Australia-based Moly Mines Ltd. said on March 17 that project financing for its Spinifex Ridge project will be delayed until the second half of the year.
Thompson Creek rose 20 cents, or 1.1 percent, to C$18.85 at 3:59 p.m. in Toronto Stock Exchange trading.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stewart Bailey in New York at sbailey7@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: March 27, 2008 16:03 EDT
