China Mining: MMG To Begin Pre-extraction At Las Bambas Despite Copper Rout.

  This is how China operates, planing is going for decades and not just for the next Q filing, best projects are carefully chosen and taken out when the prices of commodities are depressed. Once the decision is made after very careful DD and consideration, projects will be moved forward step by step aiming at the supply of commodities for already existing demand in China. I know it first hand from our strategic partnership with Ganfeng Lithium. 

  When will we make another one on our Shotgun Gold project or Los Azules Copper Royalty - I cannot tell you, but we are working hard to make it. Why do they need them and why in Latin America, like Los Azules Copper of McEwen Mining? Please find a few links to build the big picture:

Real Economic Stimulus: China To Build $242bn High-speed Railway - Moscow To Beijing In 2 days.

Here comes the real economic stimulus from China. This enormous undertaking will provide jobs and will require massive amount of construction materials and metals for this infrastructure. Actually, China is talking about linking Singapore and U.S. Once even the shale oil will be gone, high-speed railways will allow the intercontinental travel in the future.

Commodities: China To Boost Investment In Latin America To $250 Billion Within Decade.

  "We can see how China is positioning itself on the global chessboard in order to preserve the stability and economic growth in these challenging times. After announcement of $1 Trillion infrastructure development plans now comes the very logical step to secure commodities supply from Latin America to implement these plans. Read more."

Metals: China Fast-Tracks $1 Trillion in Projects to Spur Growth.

  "Now we can put all China's world-wide acquisitions of the metal projects in the perspective. This huge stimulus plan for infrastructure development will need a secure supply of metals and China is already on the road to get it!Read more."

TNR Gold Los Azules Copper: Chinese M&A - Watch Out For Las Bambas Effect.

  "Frik Els provides a very good insight into the Chinese deal culture and mining M&A particularly. Las Bambas deal is not only the very good indicator of the turning mining cycle, but also provides guidance for the smaller companies in China to go on The Hunt For Copper and other commodities. You can witness this approach in our particular case of Strategic Commodities with International Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium as well. Read More."

Mining:

MMG to begin pre-extraction at Las Bambas despite copper rout

Cecilia Jamasmie | January 29, 2015

Construction of Las Bambas, capable of an output of more than 2 million tonnes in the first five years of its opening, was 80% complete at the end of 2014.

Copper weak prices, with the metal approaching a fresh five-year low early this week, have done nothing to discourage completion of MMG’s Las Bambas in Peru, one of the world's biggest mines of the red metal.

According BNamericas (in Spanish), construction of the US$7bn massive project, acquired from Glencore (LON:GLEN) in August 2014, is going strong and MMG expects production at Ferrobamba, one of the four deposits that make up the operation, to start early next year.

Glencore had to sell the project or other assets by September in order to win China's approval for its takeover of miner Xstrata in 2013, as Beijing feared the merged group would hold too much sway over global copper supply.

Construction of Las Bambas, capable of an output of more than 2 million tonnes in the first five years of its opening, was 80% complete at the end of 2014, and MMG expects that between $2.7 billion and $3.2 billion will have to be spent between August last year and when the first production of copper concentrate starts. Mining."

Presentation: TNR Gold Receives Royalty From McEwen Mining On "One Of The Largest Undeveloped Copper Projects".

TNR Gold NSR In Los Azules Copper Project: What Is Net Smelter Return?

Net Smelter Return (NSR) is the net revenue (total revenue minus production costs) that the owner of a mining property receives from the sale of the mine's metal/non metal products less transportation and refining costs. As a royalty it refers to the fraction of net smelter return that a mine operator is obligated to pay the owner of the royalty agreement. The royalty is paid in variable or fixed payments based on sales revenue received by a mining operator in return for mining output. It is contingent only on the sales price and quantity of product sold.^[1]  Read more."

TNR Gold Receives Royalty From McEwen Mining On "One Of The Largest Undeveloped Copper Projects".

I am very pleased to report our latest development on Los Azules.

We have finally locked up the participation in this unique world-class copper  asset for the benefit of all our shareholders:

1. Now we do not have to wait for feasibility study.

2. We do not have to contribute any capital.

3. Our industry standard NSR in "one of the largest undeveloped copper projects", according to McEwen Mining, is in effect immediately and can be monetised now at any time.

4. 0.4% NSR is now attributed to the entire Los Azules project - it is higher than pro-rata 0.6% attributed to only our part of Los Azules before.

5. We will participate in sale of Los Azules by McEwen Mining within 36 month and it is not affecting our NSR. 

6. We are receiving shares in McEwen Mining.

7. Now TNR Gold will benefit directly from:

A. Sale of Los Azules by McEwen Mining within 36 months.

B. Rise in value of McEwen mining shares.

C. Rise in Copper prices.

D. Potential increase in the deposit size and quality of the reported resources of the entire Los Azules.

E. Further feasibility studies conducted by the McEwen Mining or the new Operator and advancement of the project.

Jim Mustard VP of PI Financial can provide you with additional information on Los Azules Copper project and TNR Gold assets related to it.

http://www.pifinancialcorp.com/investmentBanking/investmentBankingTeam/bioTemplate.php?id=26#

Please read our full legal disclaimer in our presentation and on our website: http://www.tnrgoldcorp.com/

Los Azules Copper M&A: Copper Climbs as Chinese Manufacturing Signals Growth.

  Higher Copper prices will drive the valuation of our Royalty on Los Azules Copper and will put this very important project to the forefront of M&A activity in Latin America. 

  McEwen Mining has compared the project to recently acquired Lumina Copper's Taca Taca in Argentina and you can find more on McEwen Mining website. 

  There are money for the good large scale copper projects and China's MMG will invest USD 3 billion in the recently acquired Las Bambas. Lundin Mining acquisition of Copper assets in Chile brings us another indication for the industry insiders evaluation of risks and opportunities. 

China's MMG to spend $3 bln to finish Peru mine by early 2016

Lundin to Buy Freeport Chile Copper Mine for $1.8 Billion

TNR Gold Receives Royalty From McEwen Mining On "One Of The Largest Undeveloped Copper Projects".

I am very pleased to report our latest development on Los Azules.

We have finally locked up the participation in this unique world-class copper  asset for the benefit of all our shareholders:

1. Now we do not have to wait for feasibility study.

2. We do not have to contribute any capital.

3. Our industry standard NSR in "one of the largest undeveloped copper projects", according to McEwen Mining, is in effect immediately and can be monetised now at any time.

4. 0.4% NSR is now attributed to the entire Los Azules project - it is higher than pro-rata 0.6% attributed to only our part of Los Azules before.

5. We will participate in sale of Los Azules by McEwen Mining within 36 month and it is not affecting our NSR. 

6. We are receiving shares in McEwen Mining.

7. Now TNR Gold will benefit directly from:

A. Sale of Los Azules by McEwen Mining within 36 months.

B. Rise in value of McEwen mining shares.

C. Rise in Copper prices.

D. Potential increase in the deposit size and quality of the reported resources of the entire Los Azules.

E. Further feasibility studies conducted by the McEwen Mining or the new Operator and advancement of the project.

Jim Mustard VP of PI Financial can provide you with additional information on Los Azules Copper project and TNR Gold assets related to it.

http://www.pifinancialcorp.com/investmentBanking/investmentBankingTeam/bioTemplate.php?id=26#

Please read our full legal disclaimer in our presentation and on our website: http://www.tnrgoldcorp.com/

Stay tuned: new presentation will reflect this very important development for our company.

TNR Gold Investor Presentation March 2014 from Kirill Klip

Bloomberg:

Copper Climbs as Chinese Manufacturing Signals Growth

Copper rose in New York after manufacturing expanded at a faster-than-projected rate in China, the biggest consumer of industrial metals, bolstering the outlook for demand.

A Chinese factory gauge from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics showed a preliminary October reading of 50.4, exceeding the median estimate of 50.2 in a Bloomberg News survey. The nation accounts for about 45 percent of copper demand, according to Standard Chartered Plc. Copper also climbed after a similar euro-area gauge unexpectedly increased.

“While the manufacturing sector likely stabilized in October, the economy continues to show signs of insufficient effective demand,” Qu Hongbin and Julia Wang, economists at HSBC Plc, said of China in a note today. “This warrants further policy easing, and we expect more easing measures on both the monetary as well as fiscal fronts in the months ahead.”

Copper for December delivery added 0.4 percent to $3.029 a pound by 7:32 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The contract for delivery in three months rose 0.6 percent to $6,671 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

“There have been light pockets of consumer buying, some spec short-covering as we approached $6,500,” James Marks, head of global metals at Xconnect Trading Ltd. in London, said by e-mail. Trading interest is low because many market participants are inLondon for LME Week, when supply contracts are discussed, according to Xconnect.

A euro-area manufacturing measure unexpectedly rose to a preliminary 50.7 in October, Markit said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a drop to 49.9.

Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME fell for a fourth day to 157,500 tons, daily data showed. Orders to remove the metal from warehouses rose 7.7 percent to a one-month high of 28,025 tons amid requests for 1,125 tons in Trieste, Italy, and 875 tons in Antwerp, Belgium. Bloomberg."

Mining M&A in Latin America, China And Prospects For Copper Supply.

Source: ICSG and IMF. 

  Chile, Indonesia, USA, Australia and Canada together account for 80% of the world’s copper supply, and with the revived interest in the metal, many national companies are now making headlines with plans of acting to relieve demand pressures and ease supply shortfalls, signalling the potential turnaround and the major bottom in this mining cycle anticipated in the copper market.
  Roughly half of all mined copper is used to manufacture electrical wire and cable conductors that are used in today's energy and communication technology applications. With both of these sectors rapidly advancing worldwide, it shouldn’t surprise market observers that the demand for copper is similarly on the rise. 

  

Source: ICSG and IMF.

  Yet as copper gained ground, hitting a four month high at the beginning of July (London Metal Exchange) and peaking just above US $3.25/lb, many analysts had to re-rate their copper valuations, which were largely based on overblown fears of a dropping demand from China, it being the world’s largest base metal consumer. In actuality, Chinese copper demand continued to rise while the refined copper market ran into a deficit.

Source: IMF.

  There is however a new drive for copper demand to be considered, a technological drive delivered by the global introduction of the electric car. Copper finds itself a prerequisite for every electric and hybrid car: it goes into the electric motors, the wiring and the battery power supply system. A complimentary factor, charging infrastructure, presents another component of the driving force developing the rapidly growing demand for copper cables and it's wiring market. The Chinese march against air pollution has catapulted electric car industry into the status of the strategic industry. In the recent news Beijing  has announced building charging infrastructure with 1,000 fast charging stations and "electric cars ready" wiring mandate  for all new residential communities. 

Source: Tesla Motors.

  Speaking of the U.S. and Europe Elon Musk continues to build the supercharger networks for Tesla Motors and talks with BMW and Nissan strongly insinuate that this technology could become the industry standard igniting the rapid development of the mass market for electric cars.

  Copper demand is further bolstered by the development of high-speed railway network in China. This move is mirrored in the West with the UK and US flirting with the idea of developing their own high speed mass-transit systems, representing another strategic consideration for the industry which begins to feel somewhat constrained supply for all the projected demand.

  A change in the copper market cycle was signified this spring with the carefully engineered by Chinese authorities acquisition by Minmetals Group of Las Bambas copper in Peru for US $6 billion from Glencore. Frik Els from Mining.com has reported that according to PwC Global Mining Leader John Gravelle this takeover is the sign of things to come, with companies further down the scale will also be impacted by the "Las Bambas" effect. It seems that the new M&A boom is just around the corner now: 

"The size of the deal reflects Chinese belief in copper.  And China's smaller and private mining operations take their guidance from the large state-owned enterprises," said Gravelle.
The National Development and Reform Commission, China's powerful economic planning agency, in May put into effect a new regime to govern overseas investment, making it much easier for domestic companies to make acquisitions and set up joint ventures abroad.
The so-called Order 9 scraps the approval process for deals worth less than $1 billion entirely, replacing it with a simple registration process, eases forex requirements and cuts out much of the bureaucracy. Mining.com"

  Interestingly, while many Wall Street market forecasters were caught off guard, Vancouver based TNR Gold Corp., a junior exploration company and Lumina Copper Ltd., a junior miner, planned to capitalise on the copper turnaround.  Both companies pursued and secured their copper interests near the Andean Copper Belts in Argentina. For Lumina Copper Ltd. the foresight clearly paid off as the company recently announced they found a buyer for their Taca Taca project in the Salta Province (120 kilometres east of the Escondida, the world's largest producing copper mine). First Quantum Minerals Ltd. struck a deal to buy Lumina for CDN $470-million in cash and stock, and with the recent advance in copper prices Lumina Copper market cap is now close to CDN $500 million.

  With revived interest in the commodity and that of the copper rich area, TNR Gold Corp. holds rights into the next obvious valuable asset for potential prospectors. The company retains a back-in right to northern part of Los Azules in San Juan, one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world, currently owned and operated by McEwen Mining. 
  The back-in right is exercisable following the completion of a feasibility study and allows TNR to back-in for 25% of the northern part of the Los Azules property, which McEwen stated contains the largest share of the known resource at Los Azules. TNR’s advantage in this deal is that it does not assume any risks, nor does it need to raise any funds until a feasibility study is complete – which typically costs companies between $80-100 million. TNR has engaged PI Financial Corp., a leading independent investment dealer, to help market and sell TNR’s interest in this world-class, early-stage copper asset.

  It is clear from looking at Lumina Copper’s stock, which went from CDN $3 to nearly CDN $11 in three months, that the market is slowly catching on to the real potential value of essential metal projects. Now it’s just a matter of patience and apt timing until the Los Azules project gains recognition for its formidable asset worth.

 "The sale of our Back-in Right will provide the necessary liquidity and catalyst to all of our group of companies. Rob McEwen has done a great job as Operator developing this project and now Los Azules is at the top of the list of the best copper projects in the world available for sale, according to PI Financial! I would recommend to contact Jim Mustard VP at PI Financial to get more information about Los Azules Copper project and our Back-In Right Asset. Read more."

TNR Gold Investor Presentation March 2014 from Kirill Klip

TNR Gold Los Azules Copper: Chinese M&A - Watch Out For Las Bambas Effect.

  

  Frik Els provides a very good insight into the Chinese deal culture and mining M&A particularly. Las Bambas deal is not only the very good indicator of the turning mining cycle, but also provides guidance for the smaller companies in China to go on The Hunt For Copper and other commodities. You can witness this approach in our particular case of Strategic Commodities with International Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium as well. 

"John Gravelle, PwC partner and global mining leader says the Chinese takeover of Las Bambas is a sign of things to come.

Companies further down the scale will also be impacted by the the "Las Bambas effect", Gravelle told MINING.com in Vancouver at the presentation of the consulting firm's 2014 global trends report.

"The size of the deal reflects Chinese belief in copper.  And China's smaller and private mining operations take their guidance from the large state-owned enterprises," said Gravelle.

The National Development and Reform Commission, China's powerful economic planning agency, in May put into effect a new regime to govern overseas investment, making it much easier for domestic companies to make acquisitions and set up joint ventures abroad.

The so-called Order 9 scraps the approval process for deals worth less than $1 billion entirely, replacing it with a simple registration process, eases forex requirements and cuts out much of the bureaucracy. Mining.com."

  There are already reports from Chile that rumours about Barrick Gold talking to Chinese companies to develop Pascua Lama actually are very close to the reality. And we already know the Chinese negotiating tactics: Las Bambas deal was on and off quite for a few times before it was sold finally.  IKN reports:

"Today we have this, from Chile's respected bizmedia Diario Financiero. Here's a translation of the relevant bit for our purposes, but there's plenty more about other aspects of Pascua Lama in the note (underline/bold type added): 

The New Partner 

However, the decision on whether the continue with the project also depends on other factors. One of those is containing project costs, that had risen previous to the stoppage to U$8.5Bn, although the industry says that when Barrick stopped all construction at the end of October internally they were talking about U$10Bn.
Under this scenario, when at the same time the mining industry in Canada is not going through a strong financial period, the figure of a new partner to help pay for the investment seems necessary and even more so when the current problematic environmental backdrop could make debt financing difficult.
Sources close to the company say that after several months of parallel negotiation with two Chinese investment partners, Barrick has not managed to close an agreement with either. 

continues here 

Yes, that's the same thing IKN has been telling you about since February. The main problem isn't the terms of the deal between ABX and Citic, it's the way the Chiense want a clear run at development once the deal is signed. That means Chile the country getting its house in order with ABX first so once the project has permitting green lights, the money will become available (in exchange for a large chunk of the project, of course). IKN."

  This is very encouraging news for us at TNR Gold and today's CNBC reports about recovery of Chinese economy is making our case for Los Azules even more stronger:

China HSBC June final PMI at 50.7, official PMI at 51

"China's manufacturing activity rebounded further in June, government data showed on Tuesday.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 51, in line with a forecast from Reuters and above the 50.8 reading in May.

Separately, HSBC said the final reading of its China PMI stood at 50.7 in June compared with a flash estimate of 50.8. CNBC."

TNR Gold Los Azules Back-In Right: Multi-Year Global Copper Market Outlook

   "Lumina Copper buyout by First Quantum Minerals has already re-rated valuations in the mining sector of Argentina and this pick up in M&A activity will signify the major bottom in this mining cycle, as we have discussed before. It is very important that money is coming in the large CAPEX Copper project particularly in Argentina, where our Los Azules Copper project is located. I hope to share with you industry research reports on Los Azules copper in the nearest future - this activity should awaken the sleeping analysts. We are working with PI Financial on the Sale of our Back-In Right and below you can find the big picture view on Copper provided by Derek Hamil in his very well researched article. Read more."

"The sale of our Back-in Right will provide the necessary liquidity and catalyst to all of our group of companies. Rob McEwen has done a great job as Operator developing this project and now Los Azules is at the top of the list of the best copper projects in the world available for sale, according to PI Financial! I would recommend to contact Jim Mustard VP at PI Financial to get more information about Los Azules Copper project and our Back-In Right Asset."

TNR Gold Investor Presentation March 2014 from Kirill Klip

TNR Gold: Los Azules Copper And M&A in Argentina - First Quantum Minerals to Acquire Lumina Copper For $470 Million.

Mining.com:

Chinese M&A: Watch out for Las Bambas effect.

  Erik Els 

"A view of the world and a strategy to extend influence that befits a country that calls itself the Middle Kingdom is beginning to take shape. 

After many stumbles and burnt fingers abroad, China's state-directed foreign M&A strategy appears to be entering a new phase. 

It's beginning to look as if Chinese authorities carefully engineered the takeover of Glencore's flagship Las Bambas copper project over two years.

Glencore and Xstrata first announced a merger February 2012 and after much shareholder wrangling and jumping through regulatory hoops China was the last country to approve the deal – a full 14 months later.

There was one, pretty specific, proviso.

Glencore must give up Las Bambas. Or something of equivalent significance for future global copper supply (nothing springs to mind).

The Swiss-based firm had already lavished $4 billion on the Peruvian mine and China took its sweet time to ink a deal. Mining.com"