The commodity supercycle revisited
A new copper supercycle is emerging, built on several rising geopolitical and market trends, including electrification, national security concerns, environmental policy, supply constraints and deglobalization.
The Reed Copper Mine in Manitoba, 70% owned by Hudbay Minerals (TSE:HBM) and 30% by VMS Ventures (CVE:VMS), will be at full production by April 2014, and the company will be cash flow positive by 2015, said the CEO and President Rick Mark at the Vancouver Investment Conference in January.
“This means we are looking for projects,” said Mark.
The Reed mine, near Flin Flon Manitoba, is in pre-production. Last week the company announced that it had reached a number of milestones, and that the project remains on budget and on schedule.
With cash from production, Mark believes there will be opportunities to buy because the markets are “brutal.”
“There is a little bit of life in the base metals, right now, but broadly speaking the junior markets are struggling. It’s very difficult to get financing for early stage projects.”
Mark believes more and more companies will fall away from what were once considered substantial assets.
VMS Ventures is also running a nickel exploration program at its Maniitsoq property in Greenland.
The Reed Lake property is in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt in central Manitoba.
