China’s steel demand shifts to higher-grade ore, Rio Tinto exec says
"The demand for high grade ore continues to be strong," chief commercial officer Bold Baatar said.
Jinfeng open pit and underground mine China’s southern Guizhou Province
Eldorado Gold Corp (TSE:ELD) plunged 17% on Wednesday after the Vancouver-based gold producer’s outlook for the year forced a rethink for investors who had chased the stock some 20% higher this year.
In lunchtime trade Eldorado shares were traded for $7.65, down 18.7% from yesterday’s close after falling by as much as 22% in early trade. Just over 8.5m shares changed hands, nearly treble usual daily volume.
The company, now worth $5.7 billion on the Toronto big board, announced record production of 782,224 ounces during 2014, but slashed forecast production for this year to between 640,000 and 700,000 ounces.
What worries investors most is a huge jump in costs at the company which owns mines in Turkey, China, Greece, Brazil (which it is mothballing) and a project Romania.
Eldorado now expects average cash cost ranging between $570–$615 per ounce, and an all-in sustaining cash cost between $960–$995 per ounce in 2015.
That compares to all-in sustaining cash costs that averaged $780 per ounce and cash operating costs of $500 per ounce.
The company said last year it’s spinning off its Chinese assets into a new company to be listed in Hong Kong. It may also sell some of its Chinese mines ahead of the HK IPO.
The mines which produce roughly 300,000oz/year could fetch as much as $1.5 billion, while the IPO could raise $250 million to add to Eldorado’s already healthy $500 million cash balance.
