Xstrata is a major global diversified mining group. Xstrata maintains a meaningful position in six major international commodity markets: copper, coking coal, thermal coal, ferrochrome, vanadium and zinc, with additional exposures to gold, lead and silver. The Groups operations and projects span four continents and seven countries: Australia, South Africa, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Peru and the UK.

            Red = 25 day moving average.           Green = 200 day moving average.

SALES PER ACTIVITY (Data as of 31/12/2005)

Coal:       42%
Copper:    25%
Zinc:       18%
Chrome:   10%
Vanadium: 4%
Others:     1%

sooooooooooooooooooooo????

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Given the recovery in commodities and the market generally this one is a good price today.

After todays falls across the board the price of XTA looks even more interesting now.

Commodities rebound as risk appetite returns

By Kevin Morrison

Published: June 22 2006 18:21

Commodity markets started briskly with strong gains across the board in a sign that investors had regained their risk appetite.

However, towards the end of Thursday, most of the gains had turned into declines or pared gains in the case of oil.

In London, IPE Brent futures for August delivery gained 41 cents to $69.58 a barrel in late afternoon trade, off its intra-day peak of $70.01.

August West Texas Intermediate added 22 cents to $70.55 a barrel in late morning trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices have been boosted by the weekly US inventory report, that showed that petrol stockpiles had not risen by as much as expected. This in turn fuelled concern over tight supplies this summer when US petrol demand peaks.

However, gold prices dropped from their intra-day high of $594.80 a troy ounce to $584.40/$585.40 in late London trade, down almost $5 on the day. The market ignored positive comments from a Chinese central bank official, who said China should convert some of its foreign exchange reserves, the worlds largest, into gold to hedge against the dollars weakness.

Converting part of foreign exchange reserves into gold reserves would help protect and increase the value of reserve assets, said the article written by Luo Bin, an official with the central banks accounting and finance department, and Zhao Qingming, an economist at the banks institute of finance and banking.

The authors, writing in the May edition of the Chinamoney magazine, said buying more gold with foreign exchange reserves, at a record $875.1bn at the end of March, would help ease upward pressure on the renminbi.

Copper prices rose by more than 5 per cent at one stage to more than $7,000 a tonne yesterday, before succumbing to a bout of profit-taking that dragged prices down by more than $130 to $6,677 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Copper in LME registered warehouses extended their fall to critically low levels.

Robin Bhar, base metals strategist at UBS, said copper stocks held in the warehouses of other metal exchanges were similarly very low. The combined copper stocks of the three exchanges, LME, Comex and Shanghai Futures Exchange currently total 168,000 tonnes compared with about 800,000 at the end of 2003.

Mr Bhar said the current total equates to just under four days of global copper consumption and although there are stocks held by producers, merchants and consumers, exchange stocks are reported on a daily basis and are highly visible to the market.

It comes of little surprise then why copper prices continue to remain very high - there is little or no buffer against unexpected supply problems, of which there has been many this year, with consumers scrambling to restock amid strong demand, he said.

Market report: Thursday close
Mickey Clark, Evening Standard
22 June 2006

A COMMODITIES-fuelled rally and a strong performance by Wall Street overnight led share prices in London to high ground today.

Mining shares and oil companies were to the fore again as the FTSE 100 index climbed back above 5700, sporting a lead of 19.1 points at 5684.1. The price of crude oil on the world market rose back above $70 a barrel, reflecting growing tension over Iran and North Korea.

The price of raw materials such as copper and gold was also up sharply, with copper supplies threatened by a proposed strike in Chile.

Source: MarketWatch. - 23 June 2006

Gold closes higher; gains 1.1% on the week


Gold futures closed higher Friday and gained 1.1% on the week, as traders shrugged off dollar strength to focus on the yellow metal's longer-term outlook as a hedge against inflation and global political instability

After declining for most of the day, gold for August delivery reversed course shortly before the close to finish up $2.60 at $588.0 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract ended at $581.70 a week ago.

Gold had dropped as low as $574.5 on Friday under pressure from the rallying dollar, which surged to two-month peaks against the euro and yen on Friday. The U.S. currency gained strength from market expectations the Federal Reserve will raise rates again next week.

Other metals prices were mixed. July silver added 7.50 cents to $10.285 an ounce and July copper was up 10.50 cents at $3.2405. July platinum dropped $9.20 at $1,166.9 an ounce and September palladium was down $4.10 at $309.80 an ounce.

After suffering considerable short to intermediate technical damage, gold is most likely going to have a broad trading range of $525-$625 through the summer doldrums," said Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter. "The long-term secular bull market remains intact and a new yearly high above $736 before year-end is still in the cards."

Deutsche Bank also recommended building long gold exposure, although it's bearish on gold and silver in the short term.

"The latest U.S. capital flow data reveal a further improvement in the country's modified basic balance," said analyst Michael Lewis in a note to investors Friday. "This offers a summer of U.S. dollar strength and with it further downside in the gold price. Even so we remain long-term gold bulls."

The metal is still an attractive hedge against "U.S. weakness, inflation shocks and skittish equity market conditions over the coming year," Lewis said.

Supply-demand fundamentals and investment influences are the factors affecting the gold market and both are supportive of gold, said Alan Heap, a Citigroup analyst based in Sydney.

"Mine production is constrained," Heap said. "It is expected to increase by only 2% this year. Demand has been affected by the high prices but will likely recover, as jewelry manufacturers stocks are depleted, even if prices remain high." The economic environment, particularly the inflation risks and global political tensions, also favor gold, Heap said.

At its meeting next week, the Federal Open Market Committee is expected to increase U.S. interest rates to 5.25% in its 17th consecutive rate hike.

"It [the expected Fed rate hike] is discounted into financial markets, but that does not mean there will not be a response on the day," Heap said.

James Moore of TheBullionDesk.com said that gold's performance in the next few days will be closely related to the movement of the dollar ahead of the FOMC decision on interest rates.

"For the moment $550-600 should offer a broad trading parameter although developments in the U.S./Iran and U.S./North Korea nuclear argument still have the potential to trigger a break out," Moore said.

Earlier in the week, North Korea was reported to be preparing to test launch a missile and Iran said it will only reply to a U.N. incentives package to dissuade it from enriching uranium only by mid-August, disregarding U.S. calls for a quicker response.

On the supply side, gold inventories were unchanged at 8.03 million troy ounces as of late Thursday, according to Nymex data. Silver supplies rose by 22,815 troy ounces to 104.6 million.

Copper fell by 64 short tons to 7,417.

Bloomberg - 23/06/2006

Copper Rises Most in a Week in New York on Signs Demand May Climb in U.S.


June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose the most in a week after a report showed a gain in orders of most U.S.-made durable goods, renewing speculation that demand will grow for metal used in wiring for cars, machinery and appliances.

Orders excluding transportation equipment rose 0.7 percent in May, including improved demand for computers and communication equipment, the Commerce Department said today. Copper, after doubling in the past year, has plunged 24 percent from a record high last month on concern rising global interest rates would slow economic growth and metals demand.

``Manufacturing continues to be in decent shape, and that's a positive for copper,'' said Donald Selkin, director of equity research at Joseph Stevens & Co. in New York. Current copper prices are ``a good area to buy'' after falling from the record high, he said.

Copper futures for September delivery rose 3.05 cents, or 1 percent, to $3.079 a pound at 10:24 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close at that price would be the biggest gain since June 16.

Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange rose $16 to $6,725 a metric ton.

Gold May Rise on Concern Fed Will Struggle to Curb Pace of U.S. Inflation

June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise for a second week on speculation the Federal Reserve will need to keep raising interest rates to curb inflation, boosting demand for an alternative to stocks and bonds.

Eleven of 28 traders, investors and analysts from Sydney to Chicago surveyed by Bloomberg News on June 22 and June 23 advised buying gold, which rose 1.1 percent to $588 an ounce in New York last week. Nine said to sell and eight were neutral.

Gold rallied 50 percent since June 2004, when the Fed began a series of 16 straight increases in the overnight lending rate between banks to combat higher energy, commodity and consumer prices. Fed Bank of Atlanta President Jack Guynn said last week inflation remains ``bothersome'' and that he sees ``elevated'' risks in the pace of price gains.

``The Fed is behind the curve,'' said James Turk, founder of Nassau, Bahamas-based GoldMoney.com, which stores gold for investors. ``They have been more focused on trying to keep the economy from buckling under than to stop the growing inflationary pressures.''

Gold futures for August delivery rose $6.30 last week on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, ending five straight declines. The gain was expected by a majority of analysts surveyed June 15 and June 16. The Bloomberg survey has forecast the direction of prices accurately in 69 of 113 weeks, or 61 percent of the time.

Fed policy makers meet June 29 in Washington to review the current benchmark interest rate of 5 percent. The rate was at a 46-year low of 1 percent two years ago.

Too Little, Too Late

``Even if they raise rates by one-quarter, which is what I expect, it's still too little, too late to stop gold's bull market,'' Turk said.

U.S. consumer prices excluding food and energy rose 0.3 percent in May, capping the biggest three-month gain in the so- called core rate since March 1995, the Labor Department said June 14. The rise last month was the third straight that exceeded analysts' estimates.

Some investors buy gold to preserve purchasing power in times of accelerating inflation. Gold futures surged to $873 in 1980, when a jump in the cost of oil led to a 13 percent annual rise in U.S. consumer prices.

The Fed will raise the overnight lending rate by 0.25 percentage point this week, all but two of 122 economists said in a separate Bloomberg survey. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told a June 5 conference in Washington that recent gains in inflation are ``unwelcome.''

Longer Rally

``This gold bull market is only five years old,'' said Gregory Orrell, who manages $150 million gold investments including the $100 million OCM Gold Fund in Livermore, California. ``It still has at least another five years to go.''

The Fed's rate increase this week probably will be the last for this year because ``the U.S. economy is softening and the housing market is softening,'' Orrell said. ``The Fed doesn't want to totally implode the system. There's too much debt out there.''

The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators fell last month by the most since September, the New York-based group said June 22. The index, which predicts economic activity for the next three to six months, dropped 0.6 percent after a 0.1 percent decline in April.

Building permits, a sign of future construction, fell 2.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.932 million, the lowest since November 2003, the Commerce Department said June 20. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo's index of builder confidence declined to an 11-year low of 42 this month, from 46 in May. A number below 50 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The index hasn't increased for the last eight months, the longest such stretch since 1994.

Dollar Weakness

Demand for gold also is improving on speculation the dollar will weaken against the euro and yen. Gains in the U.S. currency contributed to a 24 percent decline in gold from a 26-year high of $732 an ounce on May 12.

``We are starting to see gold claw back some of its losses as the market contemplates a more medium-term view of the dollar,'' said Alastair McIntyre, head of marketing at ScotiaMocatta in Hong Kong.

``Dollar strength is squeezing every possible drop of one or two rate hikes in the future,'' McIntyre said. ``But once the market figures out that that's it, along with prospects of a rate cut next year and Japan and Europe potentially tightening, the dollar has nowhere to go but down. Gold is sensing this and now is shaking off the correction.''

``The next rate hike, which was pressuring gold and stocks, is now well discounted,'' said Adrian Day, who manages $105 million at Annapolis, Maryland-based Adrian Day's Asset Management. ``The sell-off has probably been overdone. Below $600 is a good level to be building positions for the longer term.''

Xstrata, the mining group, will hold an EGM on Friday to seek shareholder approval for its planned acquisition of Falconbridge, the Canadian mining group.

Sounds like they've missed out.

The Times - June 27, 2006
From Eric Reguly in Toronto

Xstrata thwarted in its bid for Canada's Falconbridge


THE global ambitions of Xstrata, the Anglo-Swiss mining group in pursuit of Falconbridge, of Canada, were dealt a blow yesterday when Phelps Dodge, of the United States, agreed to buy both Falconbridge and its rival Inco for $40 billion (22 billion).

The three-way merger will create the biggest publicly traded copper and nickel producer, with annual combined sales of more than $25 billion, almost $8 billion in operating profits and 40,000 employees in 40 countries.

The new company, to be called Phelps Dodge Inco, will have its headquarters in Phoenix and will trade on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges.

With an enterprise value debt and equity of $58 billion, Phelps Dodge Inco will be the fifth-largest mining group, after BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and CVRD, of Brazil.

Xstrata, which has bid C$52.50 a share in cash for the 80 per cent of Falconbridge that it does not already own, would not comment on its options, but executives close to the company said that Xstrata should not be ruled out of contention. They still have the only all-cash bid on the table and have the capability to go higher, one said. Its not over and they still have some time.

Would it be interesting if this company itself became a target for bidders from the likes of RIO?....or someone?

TORONTO, Jun 30, 2006 (The Canadian Press via COMTEX)

Falconbridge's shareholder rights plan will stay in place for now, OSC says


Falconbridge Ltd. (TSX:FAL) can keep its poison pill defence for now, Ontario's securities regulator decided Friday, denying Xstrata PLC (LSE:XTA) relief from one hurdle in its path to buying the Canadian mining giant.

That Ontario Securities Commission decision on the poison pill followed an Ontario court ruling that dismissed an application by Swiss-based Xstrata to force Falconbridge to hold an early annual meeting.

Xstrata owns 20 per cent of the Toronto-based copper and nickel producer has made a $52.50 Cdn all-cash bid for the rest of Falconbridge, which is at the centre of a major battle involving some of Canada's biggest mining companies.

Falconbridge and one-time rival Inco Ltd. (TSX:N) have been trying to complete a friendly merger since October, but progress on that deal has been stalled by regulatory delays in Europe.

On Monday, the Inco and Falconbridge struck a friendly $40-billion-US deal with U.S.-based Phelps, which has offered to buy both Inco and Falconbridge.

Also waiting in the wings is Vancouver's Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B), which has made a $17.8-billion bid for Inco - on the condition it drop the Falconbridge deal.

The OSC said Friday the poison pill will remain in place until Xstrata takes up sufficient Falconbridge shares to meet its "majority of the minority condition," or until July 28.

"The Commission's decision to limit Xstrata's statutory rights until the 28th July is particularly hard to understand, given that it confers a distinct unequal advantage to Inco, whose offer closes two weeks prior to this date," Xstrata spokesman Marc Gonsalves said Friday.

"Xstrata will consider its position in the light of this (OSC) ruling, but we are clear that the SRP has to be set aside for Falconbridge shareholders to be free to accept our offer," Gonsalves said.

Xstrata had gone before the Ontario regulators on Tuesday, seeking to have the plan terminated because, it claimed, Falconbridge had failed to secure the necessary shareholder approval.

It also argued the plan deprived Xstrata of its right to buy additional shares.

Falconbridge's poison pill prevents a prospective acquirer from slowly increasing its stake in the company, by essentially flood the market with new shares, making a hostile takeover prohibitively expensive for an acquiring company.

It's triggered when someone acquires or announces its intention to acquire 20 per cent or more of the company without approval of the board.

Falconbridge has maintained the continued existence of the plan was in the best interest of shareholders, saying Xstrata's application was motivated by a wish to acquire the firm without offering a premium to all shareholders.

The panel did not release details of its decision Friday, but OSC lawyers had backed Falconbridge at a hearing Tuesday, saying it was in shareholders' interest to prevent Xstrata from buying just enough Falconbridge shares to block Inco's offer, shutting down the competitive auction process that now exists.

Xstrata's second blow came from Ontario Superior Court, which confirmed Friday that Falconbridge had acted in accordance with the Ontario Business Corporations Act Friday when deciding to hold its annual meeting in October - six months later than in previous years.

But Xstrata did get one piece of good news at a special meeting Friday, in which Xstrata stockholders with 555.9 million shares voted in favour of the Falconbridge takeover offer, while 975,248 opposed it and 5.6 million abstained.

The Xstrata and Phelps offers have been met with union and political opposition, and even Phelps's second-largest shareholder, Atticus Capital, said Thursday it may not back the deal.

"The main question I get from investors is about the debt level that Phelps will end up with," said Charles Bradford, and analyst with New York-based Soleil Bradford Research.

Phelps Dodge spokesman Stan Rideout said the company respects its shareholders views "and we strongly believe in the financial and strategic merits of our proposed combination with Inco and Falconbridge."

"We are confident that our shareholders will see the value of the transaction."

Daily Telegraph - By Cosima Marriner - (Filed: 04/07/2006)

D-day for Xstrata on Canadian bid


Crunch time is looming for Anglo-Swiss mining giant Xstrata, which must decide by Friday whether to increase its offer for Canadian nickel producer Falconbridge.

Falconbridge is the subject of a takeover battle between Xstrata and Canadian nickel company Inco, which is backed by US copper producer Phelps Dodge. Xstrata has offered $16bn (8.7bn) cash for the 80pc of Falconbridge it doesn't already own. Phelps Dodge trumped this offer last week, when it made a $40bn cash and share bid for Inco and Falconbridge.

Xstrata's hostile bid of C$52.50 (25.67) per Falconbridge share expires on Friday, a week before the friendly Phelps/Inco offer. Xstrata is currently deciding whether to extend the offer period, raise its bid, or walk away.

The company suffered a further setback late last week, when the Ontario Securities Commission refused to overturn Falconbridge's poison pill shareholder defence.

The regulator said the shareholder rights plan, which prevents creeping takeovers, could stand until July 28, two weeks after Inco's offer closes. Xstrata said this gave Inco "a distinct, unequal advantage".

Analysts expect Xstrata at least to match the Phelps/Inco bid, which yesterday had an implied value of C$58.42 per Falconbridge share. In this scenario, Xstrata's all-cash offer could be more attractive to Falconbridge shareholders than Inco's 70pc paper bid.

But Xstrata's chief executive Mick Davis has shown he will not pay over the odds for an asset, after he abandoned his tilt at Australian copper miner WMC last year when BHP Billiton made a higher offer. If Xstrata did walk away from Falconbridge, it would make a profit of $2bn on its existing 20pc stake in the company.

The Phelps/Inco bid is conditional on approval from the EU regulator, which could come as early as today.

Xstrata PLC
04 July 2006

INDUSTRY CANADA REVIEW PERIOD EXTENDED

Xstrata plc ('Xstrata') advises that it has been informed by the Investment
Review Division of Industry Canada that the Minister responsible for the
Investment Canada Act ('ICA') is unable to complete the consideration of
Xstrata's investment in connection with the proposed acquisition of Falconbridge
Limited within the initial 45 day period. As prescribed in the ICA, the Minister
has therefore extended the review period for up to a further 30 days (or such
other period as may be agreed) from July 3, 2006.

Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:10 AM BST148

Xstrata not looking at bid for Anglo


LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Swiss-based Xstrata was not looking at taking part in a possible bid for miner Anglo American, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday, denying a newspaper report.

"Xstrata have just bought Falconbridge and are focused on integrating that so they would not be thinking of biting something off as big as that (Anglo)," the source told Reuters.

The Observer newspaper said on Sunday, citing unidentified sources in London, that Xstrata, Brazil's CVRD and Rio Tinto were looking at a possible bid to break up Anglo American and had hired financial advisers.

The source said Xstrata had not hired financial advisers.

Xstrata declined to comment on the report.

Daily Telegraph - Market report - By Yvette Essen - (Filed: 07/09/2006)


Talk of a rights issue and open offer sent Xstrata shares falling 58p to 24.18. Dealers speculated the mining giant will have to raise $6bn (3.2bn) shortly.

Numis said: "We believe market expectations for the size of the equity issue post-acquisition of Falconbridge have declined markedly from $6bn-$7bn to $4bn-$5bn or even less. We think this is dangerous and maintain a base case of $6bn."

3 October 2006

Xstrata announces a fully underwritten rights issue of up to 235,787,596 New Shares at a price of 12.65 pence per New Share on the basis of one New Share for every three Existing Shares held on the record date of Monday, 2 October 2006.

The total net proceeds of the Rights Issue, after estimated aggregate costs and
expenses, are expected to be approximately 2.9 billion (approximately US$5.5 billion). The Rights Issue is being undertaken to refinance part of the US$7.0 billion Equity Bridge Facility arranged as part of the financing for the successful acquisition of Falconbridge in August 2006.

The Issue Price of 12.65 pence per New Share represents a 42.5% discount to the
closing middle-market price of the Ordinary Shares of 21.98 on 2 October 2006
(a 35.6% discount to the theoretical ex-rights price (TERP) of 19.6475).

Save in respect of New Shares which Glencore International takes up pursuant to the irrevocable undertakings it has given to the Company and pursuant to the separate underwriting commitment Glencore International has given to the Banks pursuant to the Glencore Underwriting Letter, the Rights Issue is fully underwritten by Deutsche Bank and, on behalf of its affiliate JPMorgan Cazenove, by J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd.

Glencore International and Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited ('CSSEL') have the largest shareholdings in the Company, holding approximately 14% and 22% respectively of the Ordinary Shares. Glencore International has irrevocably undertaken to take up its full entitlements under the Rights Issue. In addition, CSSEL has agreed to transfer to Glencore International its entitlements in respect of 151,560,600 Ordinary Shares under the Rights Issue and Glencore International has also irrevocably undertaken to take up in full such entitlements. CSSEL (in respect of 151,560,600 Ordinary Shares) and Glencore International have agreed to lock-ups which, subject to certain exceptions, will expire six months after the latest time for acceptance and payment in full of entitlements to subscribe for the New Shares. A total of 84,200,333 New Shares are subject to Glencore International's irrevocable
undertakings (approximately 35.71% of the maximum number of New Shares to be
issued under the Rights Issue). Glencore International will be paid an underwriting commission by the Company of US$35.1 million in connection with its undertakings.

Dealings in New Shares, nil paid, are expected to commence on the London Stock
Exchange and on the SWX Swiss Exchange ('SWX') on Thursday, 5 October 2006. The expected latest date for acceptance and payment in full under the Rights Issue
is Friday, 27 October 2006.

The Rights Issue is conditional upon a number of matters that are typical for a
transaction of this nature. If these conditions are not fulfilled, the Rights Issue will not proceed. Shareholder approval is not required in respect of the Rights Issue following the passing of the resolutions at the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company held on 30 June 2006. Shareholders who choose not to take up their rights under the Rights Issue will be diluted by approximately 33.3% following the issue of the New Shares.

Commenting, Mick Davis, Xstrata Chief Executive, said:

'The buoyant cash flow generation of the Enlarged Xstrata Group and our confidence in the prospects for the business following the first six weeks of ownership of the Falconbridge assets have exceeded our expectations. This has enabled us to reduce the size of the Rights Issue, from the anticipated US$7.0 billion required to be refinanced under the Equity Bridge Facility, to approximately US$5.5 billion net of expenses and is in line with our commitment to maintain an investment grade credit rating and a prudent capital structure that provides the flexibility to fund the enormous organic growth potential within our portfolio. The remainder of the Equity Bridge Facility will be funded through cash flow and/or through alternative means, which may include accessing the debt markets.

'We have been very encouraged by the quality of personnel and assets within Falconbridge since taking control and beginning the integration process into Xstrata's devolved business structure. The initial 30-day stage of that process is now complete and we have confirmed offers of positions with the Enlarged Xstrata Group or redundancies for all former Falconbridge employees.

'We have successfully established two new commodity businesses, Xstrata Nickel and Xstrata Aluminum, integrated the copper and zinc operations to form new business units within Xstrata Copper and Xstrata Zinc and appointed the senior executives across these new structures. Our teams have made excellent progress in transforming the businesses, realigning resources and responsibility within Xstrata's devolved business structure and identifying a number of exciting opportunities for further value creation for the Enlarged Xstrata Group. As a consequence, we believe there is upside potential for additional synergy benefits from the acquisition. The execution stage of our integration process is now underway and we expect this to complete at the end of this year, at which point we will be in a position to provide greater detail on the potential that we believe the Falconbridge Acquisition has delivered to Xstrata. Key priorities for this next stage, therefore, will be the completion of our review of the aluminium business, the ongoing identification and delivery of synergies and the development of the organic growth potential of the Enlarged Xstrata Group.'

AFX

LONDON (AFX) - Xstrata PLC said it is to raise 2.9 bln stg in a 1-for-3 rights issue of 235.8 mln new shares at 12.65 stg each.

Proceeds will be used to partly refinance a 7 bln usd loan which Xstrata secured to fund the acquisition of Canadian miner Falconbridge Ltd in August.

The rest of the money it needs to refinance the loan will come from cash flow and/or through alternative means, which may include accessing the debt markets, said Xstrata.

The issue price represents a 42.5 pct discount to Xstrata's closing middle-market price of 21.98 stg on Monday, it said.

Glencore International, which holds a 14 pct stake in the company, will take up its full entitlements under the offer, subject to a lock-up period of six months.

'The buoyant cash flow generation of the enlarged Xstrata Group and our confidence in the prospects for the business following the first six weeks of ownership of the Falconbridge assets have exceeded our expectations,' said chief executive Mick Davis.

'This has enabled us to reduce the size of the rights issue... and is in line with our commitment to maintain an investment grade credit rating and a prudent capital structure that provides the flexibility to fund the enormous organic growth potential within our portfolio,' he said.

Falconbrige, following the expiry of the offer by Inco Ltd for the company in July, paid Inco a break free of 150 mln usd in July and a further 300 mln usd in August.

Turning to current trading, Xstrata said it continued to trade well since end-June, with demand for commodities remaining robust.

'In the wider market, this demand, together with market supply constraints and long lead times to add new market capacity, has supported prices for the enlarged Xstrata Group's commodities significantly above long-term averages,' it said.

3 October 2006 - Source: Easy Bourse

Xstrata expects significant benefits from new assets


The finance director of Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata PLC said Tuesday that the company has had a number of approaches for the aluminium assets it acquired as part of its recent purchase of Canada's Falconbridge, although he declined to name the firms involved.

Xstrata is "open to all outcomes for this business," Reid said.

The chief financial officer's comments come as the company unveils a $5.5 billion (GBP2.9 billion) one-for-three rights issue to refinance its acquisition of Canadian miner Falconbridge, announced in August.

Xstrata said it is experiencing significant operational benefits from the new assets and is increasingly confident that it will surpass the synergies expected when the firm first unveiled the deal.

Reid declined to quantify those synergies, but said Xstrata expects them to come from its copper and nickel divisions.

During the course of the Falconbridge deal, Xstrata said it would seek to collaborate with the eventual owner of the Sudbury basin nickel assets held by Canadian mining firm Inco Ltd. (N), which is in the process of being taken over.

Inco's Sudbury basin assets are located next to those of Xstrata and cooperation on exploiting the reserves could result in cost savings and other benefits, Xstrata has said.

Inco's board of directors Sept. 24 recommended that its shareholders accept a $18 billion all-cash offer from Brazilian mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (RIO), or CVRD, after a protracted bidding war for the company.

Xstrata has an "ongoing dialogue with all major mining companies," Reid said, adding that talks have continued with CVRD. But substantive discussions surrounding Sudbury haven't taken place.

Having had some contact at operational levels with Inco employees, Xstrata feels that there is "huge momentum" to put the businesses together.

The Times - October 04, 2006

Investors should dig deep for unbeatable Xstrata share offer - By Robert Cole (Tempus)


IT IS the bargain of the week, surely? If you own three shares in Xstrata, market price 22.46, you can buy another share for a knockdown 12.65. If the market price of shares remains unchanged, shareholders will make a pretty much instant 77 per cent return on the new money they put in.

The number of shares in issue after the 2.9 billion cash call will be expanded by a third so the shares currently in issue may be diluted in value. The theoretical ex-rights price, which adjusts for the dilution, is 19.65. But if the new shares issued at 12.65 move up only to that level, investors will enjoy a 44 per cent uplift.

That said, to judge by yesterdays upward movement in the market price, the stock may continue to trade above the theoretical ex-rights price. Xstrata shares rose more than 2 per cent yesterday, further than any other FTSE 100 share.

The investment decision is not quite as straightforward as it might appear. For one thing yesterdays market reaction is partly related to the unwinding of short postions taken by investors who believed that Xstrata shares would fall when the rights issue details were unveiled. Since shares did not come under pressure, the short sellers had to buy in order to cover their positions.

Investors also face the risk that Xstrata is taking opportunistic advantage of the fact that its shares are highly rated at present. As the graph shows, shares are trading near their record high and have risen very rapidly over the past year. It is instructive to note that Xstrata shares have traded at an average price of 18.01 over the past year and 11.77 over the past three years.

Xstrata shares also produce a 1 per cent dividend yield, compared with an average for the mining sector of 2.1 per cent and 3.5 per cent for the London market as a whole. That hardly suggests that the shares, at 22.46, are cheap. The fact that the company felt it neccesary to price new shares at such a large discount also suggests that it is concerned that investors might think the current market price is less than robust.

For all that, the 12.65 offer is too good to refuse. Especially since the company also said yesterday that the integration of Falconbridge, the nickel and copper miner whose purchase prompted the cash call, is advancing ahead of expectations. And because it painted an upbeat assessment of general trading conditions and its cashflows. Subscribe.

dai, can you enlight me how can I get onto the right issues play? I haven't hold any XTA at the moment but intend to get onto it.

Money is printed by central banks. It won't decrease, but change hands

China October Trade Surplus Hits Record
Monday November 12, 7:16 am ET
By Joe Mcdonald, AP Business Writer
China's Trade Surplus Jumps in October to New Monthly High of $27 Billion

BEIJING (AP) -- China's trade surplus jumped to a new all-time monthly high in October, according to official data released Monday, despite government pledges to restrain export growth and adding to pressure for action on trade barriers and currency.

ADVERTISEMENT
The report comes amid demands by some U.S. lawmakers for sanctions if Beijing fails to ease currency controls. The European Union says it also will press China for action at a summit this month.

China's trade surplus for the first 10 months jumped a massive 59 percent to $212.4 billion, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs. The annual surplus already has surpassed the full-year record of $177.5 billion set in 2006.

October's trade gap rose to $27 billion, up 13.6 percent from the same month last year, according to the customs data. The previous monthly record high was $26.9 billion in June.

Chinese leaders say they are not actively pursuing huge surpluses and have imposed new taxes to restrain exports of steel, plastic and other goods deemed too dirty or energy-intensive.

Foreign demand for low-cost Chinese goods has stayed strong despite a string of foreign recalls and warnings over faulty or tainted Chinese goods ranging from toothpaste to tires.

The surge in import revenues has strained the government's ability to restrain pressure for prices to rise. The central bank drains billions of dollars a month from the economy through bond sales, and has piled up the world's biggest foreign reserves at $1.3 trillion.

China's trade surplus with the United States rose 12 percent to $15.7 billion on total two-way trade of $26.7 billion, according to the customs agency.

U.S. lawmakers are working on several proposed measures to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing fails to take action on its currency controls.

The United States and other trading partners complain that China's currency, the yuan, is kept undervalued, giving its exporters an unfair price advantage and adding to the country's surpluses.

The surplus with Europe, China's biggest trading partner, rose nearly 50 percent to $13.9 billion on total trade of $31.4 billion, the agency reported.

A European Union delegation led by Prime Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal, which holds the 25-nation group's presidency, will press Chinese leaders for action to ease trade barriers and to let the yuan rise faster in value, EU Ambassador Serge Abou said Monday.

The comments reflected Europe's growing official urgency about China's swollen trade surpluses, an area where Washington has taken the lead in the past on lobbying Beijing.

China's imports in October climbed 25.5 percent from the same month a year earlier to $80.7 billion, according to the agency. Exports grew by 22.3 percent to $107.7 billion.

The United States reported a $232.5 billion trade deficit with China last year, its biggest ever with any country. The gap this year is on track to surpass that.

For the first 10 months of the year, China's total exports grew 26.5 percent to $985.84 billion, while total imports rose 19.8 percent to $773.48 billion.

HOC was up 10% earlier. Why?

talk of a 48 bid next week and a done deal!!

no question that there is almost certain to be significant consolidation in both oils and mining ..... the difficulty is to choose the right ones

with miners tumbling (again), XTA could make a reasonable buy when sp hits 25 (3325) or 50 (3365) dma as below

Yes possibly, but XTA is on the acquisition trail & much like the BLT/RIO saga, the predator sp seems to suffer, whereas the target seems to get a boost.
My guess is that the sp will fall nearer to the 3200p level, unless more M&A details are forthcoming.

all depends on whether XTA is hunter or hunted

I would say the hunter, but in an amicable way (i.e. not a hostile takeover):

"Xstrata confirms that its ongoing interaction with other industry participants includes dialogue with a number of parties covering a range of topics of mutual interest such as industry consolidation,' Xstrata said
Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis is also understood to be trying to interest Anglo American PLC in a deal, they said."

Snippet from Saturday's (19th Jan) Times:
"Xtrata was the top performer, up 266p at 33.63 on speculation that Vale, of Brazil, had cancelled a road show next week to finalise a bid."

In the Sunday Times today, almost as a footnote to article re BLT and RIO:
"Meanwhile, Companhia Vale de Rio has started due diligence on a potential bid for Xstrata."

just hope it's not some depraved individual indulging himself with lascivious thoughts on how to make himself millions when everyone dives in

actually both XTA and RIO could/should make interesting punts for the early birds

More likely a salacious individual not wishing to deprive herself of the rewards she may reap from having already plunged in

totally scandalous ... most depraved behaviour that ill-becomes a gentlewoman

so Ms Toya, did you catch all those blokes with their knickers down? ...... i confess to being amazed that XTA opened on such a down note .... guess it's because the chinese are playing hardball re iron ore prices, or at least i can think of no other reason.

anyway, have just bought in fairly modestly at 3209, as the fall looks unwarranted and if the much-touted bid does materialise, it will surely be at a much higher price than currently enjoyed (perhaps an interesting choice of word!)

XTA briefly touched 3500 this morning, now still above 3400 so you and I both in profit Cynic - enjoy it while we may!

Info in The Observer over the weekend:

Link to Observer article 20 January 2008

Cor, cynic. Hope you were watching your screen. Could have made 5% this morning, but now heading in to negative territory.

thought of taking a very juicy instant profit before i left the office for 3-4 hours but determined, perhaps wrongly against it ..... however, i invested fairly cautiously and at what looks a good price so am still in the money

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazilian miner Vale said Monday it is in talks that could lead to a purchase of Swiss mining company Xstrata PLC, and two leading Brazilian newspapers reported the price could go as high as $90 billion.

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce SA, the planet's biggest producer of iron ore, the raw ingredient in steel, said it has been "maintaining a dialogue" with the Swiss miner but that no deal has been reached.

Vale also said it is analyzing several other options involving mining assets, but it did not specify them and said "these negotiations did not generate any concrete results yet."

any idea what $90b would mean per share?
that said, everything quoted is pure hypothesis and suitably hedged accordingly

According to an RNS of 12 December 2007, the no. of shares in issue is: 971,666,920

Times Online cites 971.67 million shares, giving a market cap of 32,677.16m

Highest figure I'd heard previously was for an offer of 42-45 per share. That would equate to a total value of, say: 42 x 971.67mln = 40,810,000,000.

So the $90b would be in that range of 42-45 per share (I think!?)

i'ld settle for an offer of 40 quid and be happy to exit around 38

Anglo Am are possibly going to bid 35b.
Market cap is roughly 31b (as Toya says).
I would say that equates to nearer 36 per share, but with a bidding war, who knows?

Vale have issued an RNS today to officially confirm that they are in talks

RNS re Vale in talks with XTA

Q is whether or not Vale or anyone else reckons now is the time to start a t/o ...... i guess the predator always intended an offer with a good cash element, then something may yet emerge

Whatever Vale might say, now would actually seem quite a good time as they might be able to do a deal at a lower price than when the markets are whizzing along.

good morning little temptress .... r u trying to inveigle us all into buying now? ...... actually, have heard worse ideas ...... could have done so a lot cheaper earlier this morning, for sp now virtually back to last night's close ...... whether it will stay firm is anyone's guess

Good morning mon petit choux: the way things are going, it would indeed be very tempting to buy more XTA at below 30. Chart was heading in the right direction earlier but not so good now.

bonjour a toi aussi mon amour ..... j'espere que tout va bien chez toi ..... meanwhile, you ain't got a hope in hell (for the mo) of buying sub 30 as currently 3160

PS or does "mon amour" make you a bloke?

Have just got in from a good workout at the newly refurbished gym - but even there I could not escape the gloom-and-doom of the markets on Sky TV (which I'm normally happy to be diverted by). And in the meantime the chart is heading to 3060, which seems to be its support point on the 5-day chart at least except for first thing today. Will watch with interest.

anyone think these will drop again when US markets open?
Alex

i cheated and know they did not lol!
much more relevant .....
if Dow does make some recovery and hold same (a) other markets will follow and (b) it will make it that much eassier for Vale (in this instance) to put together an acceptable share/cash offer

should have been brave and got in at 28** y/day. missed chance early am and thought about being brave later but missed the boat. :(
fortune favours the brave... but can also make you bankrupt

Alex

this has been a fun share to trade today, but then i have the luxury of having live prices permanently in front of me.

however, much more interestingly is the late performance (sorry; you're too late now!) .... note how strongly XTA finished whereas RIO (still a likley t/o target) finished quite a bit down as did Vedanta (VED?)

draw your own conclusions

AFX report:

China Development Bank, others interested in 14 bln stg Xstrata stake

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Prospective buyers from Asia, Europe and South America, including one of China's biggest state-controlled banks, have all made secret approaches to buy Glencore's 14 bln stg stake in Xstrata, the London-listed mining group, the Sunday Telegraph reported, without citing sources.

The paper said China Development Bank's interest in Xstrata is a further indication of Chinese companies' increasing willingness to participate directly in the wave of consolidation sweeping the commodities sector to ensure a secure supply of key resources such as iron ore and of the country's growing willingness to intervene on the global stage.

Cynic - you've probably read the details in your copy of the Telegraph?

don't get the Sunday Telegraph ..... 6 days of BNP propoganda is sufficient!

keep an eye on ORE!

Thanks for reminding me of ORE

Although current offer from VALE has been rejected by XTA, popular opinion seems to think that another offer of around 4250p per share would be a realistic compromise, which may be acceptable to both parties.

whatever .... i still hold a fairly small number which i have traded back and forth over the last several weeks.

ditto RIO

Whatever!!! You've been hanging around with those street gangs again.
The point I was trying to make was that there is still a good profit margin from todays price, assuming 4250p is a realistic target.

i concur, and this morning's weakness is arguably an opportunity to buy ..... Katherine Tait by the way!

Sp still dropping. Currently 3700. Chart would suggest 3600, but difficult to predict when the next offer will be made by Vale.
Have freed up some cash, so now looking for a good entry point.

This in today's Times:

Vale and Glencore in talks over Xstrata bid

just bought back in at 3804 as that seems to be a reasonable price from which one can trade or, with a great deal of luck, it will do very nicely indeed if a bid finally materialises over w/e

all sorts of strange things going on here this morning, but no news of any kind either from Reuters or Bloomberg.

took a profit earlier this morning and have just let greed get the better of me and bought back in ... though not extravagantly, i hope i do not live to regret it and end up giving back hard won profits from the last few weeks

Any idea why TMC is not moving with other mining stocks?

because it's nickel probably

Oh yes!
Any other reason? A bit more complicated reason please.

Also political unrest due to corruption allegations against the President's husband. Here we go again!

just in from Reuter's at 13:57 ..... is it true, not least becasue sp has perversely gone into reverse

Brazilian miner Vale has raised its bid for rival Xstrata by 17 percent to more than $89 billion, and a formal offer is expected in the coming days, a source with direct knowledge of the merger talks said on Thursday.

The source, who asked to be unnamed, said the company has raised its bid to 47 pounds a share from 40 pounds. Xstrata, an Anglo-Swiss miner, declined to comment on the matter.

Vale has secured bridge loans of $50 billion from a pool of banks.

A second source close to the negotiations said Vale President Roger Agnelli and the company's financial director, Fabio Barbosa, were still finalizing takeover talks in London at Xstrata's offices.

Any formal offer that is presented Xstrata will need to be presented to Vale's board for approval.

Another string to the XTA bow, which will presumably push up the XTA asking price:

"LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Xstrata PLC said its wholly-owned unit, Xstrata Nickel Australia Pty Ltd's (XNA), takeover offer for Jubilee Mines NL will not be extended anymore and will close on Feb 22 at 7:00 pm Sydney time.

Xstrata said XNA, which has a 96.85 pct stake in Jubilee, has started the compulsory acquisition procedure today in respect of all outstanding Jubilee shares and intends to remove Jubilee from the official list of the ASX at the end of this process."

From today's Sunday Times:

"Senior banking sources said Vale was close to tabling an offer for Xstrata of 46 a share. A deal at that price would value Xstrata at 44 billion. Xstrata shares closed the week at 40... Analysts say the greater the share element in the offer, the higher the bid price will have to be. Advisers to Vale last week sounded out hedge fund and other investors - including Blackrock and Marshall Wace - about a 46 offer, but some City institutions are holding out for closer to 50."

For full article click below:
Xstrata mega deal nears

From this evening's bulleting from ADVFN:

"Xstrata was 47 higher at 4,135 on rumours that Anglo American was to bid 5,000 pence a share for the group."

The rumour could explain the sudden surge at the end of the day.

the latest report is that Glencore and Vale cannot agree terms and thus Vale's bid may very well collapse .... hence sp reaction down to 3950 this morning.

arguably an interesting punt at this level ..... for myself, i still hold some which i rashly bought a couple of weeks at 4175 and am glad i took a modest profit yesterday afternoon on a smaller number

"Xstrata: Glencore on the brink" appeared in today's MAM round up from Lombard (FT) ..... as this publication has no topless models, i do not read it, so please can someone expand - i.e. on the brink of walking away from each other or actually agreeing a deal?

this morning's sp has scarcely moved, so no clue there!

This in today's Times - Cynic you probably don't read that either, if the above is anything to go by, so just click on the link below:

Falling shares nudge Vale towards dropping Xstrata pursuit

Sp currently 3740p.
Have seen a current valuation of 3400p per share if the Vale bid fails. 5000p if it succeeds. Don't currently hold, difficult decision, but the upside is looking appealing.

5000 is wildly optimistic ..... Vale started at 4000 and were then persuaded to 4500, but ..... no one else currently in the frame

bugger .....

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce said late Tuesday it has halted negotiations to buy rival mining company Xstrata Plc.

The Brazilian company said it put forward a cash-and-shares offer for Xstrata which it believes would have created 'significant value for both sets of shareholders.'

'Given that an agreement was not reached, discussions between the parties have been discontinued,' the company said in a release.

Bit of a bore, as you say Cynic....

advised that opening forecast to be down 4.00 at 33.00

bit the bullet at 3350 .... could have been far worse .... thank goodness i only had a fairly sensibly sized holding

i would not be surprised to see XTA continue to fall, for though sp has taken a big whack, it is very possible there will be some heavy players now being forced to sell ...... this could also impact the market in general

I hate Chinese and Indian companies. They buy British assets at low prices. Clear expamples are Corus, Rover (1), Invensys assets (1), and now Jaguar and LandRover.
The Invensys assets (CompAir) is being sold at 200mln after five years. They certainly laugh at ISYS shareholders and praise the City Analysts.

What has that got to do with XTA, VALE or the mining sector?

XTA worth more than the offer.... should get there on its own. IMO

Cynic, if you are holding XTA again, this might cheer you (from a MAM general FSTE update):

"Xstrata bucked the trend that saw commodities stocks moving lower, taking on 14p at 3,488p, after the CEO of its Brazilian suitor, Vale, said at a news conference that negotiations could resume between the two companies.

Xstrata was also helped by Citigroup resuming coverage of the mining group at 'buy' and lifting its price target to 4,500p from 4,000p, saying it believes a future tie-up between the two groups remains a distinct possibility, but even without a deal it sees underlying value in Xstrata."

i took a profit this morning .... having been whacked by IEC's jolly news, i thought a little defensive action sensible

A bit surprised you sold XTA this morning. Sp is approaching the 200 DMA, which has shown good support in the past. A few of the earlier peaks have been due to M&A rumour, but if it does bounce off the 200 DMA then I would hope to see it achieve 3600p, particularly if Toya is right.

i bought yesterday merely on spec and to take a quick turn ..... the pasting i have taken on IEC also influenced my decision

Sorry to rub salt in the wound:
"LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Shares in Xstrata Plc. were higher early morning after Citigroup resumed coverage on the group with a 'buy' stance and raised its price target on the group to 4,500 pence from 4,000 pence, market sources said."

no prob .... a profit's a profit

bought back in aghain yesterday though at a much higher price of course ..... now that position is also showing a 50p profit or thereabouts, does one take the profit and say, "Thank you very much" or risk being too greedy.

Toya and i have both been guilty of the latter, and promise not to do so again .... but we (and others) always do of course!

Hmm, tough one Cynic - and I don't think I'm the one to ask, judging from your comment! I didn't have the funds to buy back in this week otherwise would have gone for both XTA and RIO. I might be inclined to hold on for a bit.

Imo, hold for the 4000p level. I also bought yesterday.
XTA divi date is somewhere near the end of April, so may be worth holding 'til somewhere near then.

XTA is interesting in that it is very volatile and can be traded, yet also still seems to have potential for t/o by Vale if yesterday's comment is anything to go by ...... i guess that because Vale did not table a formal offer, they do not get hit by the 6 month moratorium rule

Anybody know why the sp has suddenly dropped?

Maybe it's because this is going on the the US

"Senate Committee to Examine Economy
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, Alan Schwartz, president and chief executive of Bear Stearns, and James Dimon, chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase, are scheduled to appear before the Senate Banking Committee during a hearing that begins at 10:00 a.m. ET. To view live streaming video of this event on the Web, go tohttp://www.washingtonpost.com/postlive2."

Cheers. Yes I'm watching it on CNBC atm.

nowt to do with owt, other than market sentiment and direction

Yes it seems to have been short sold down and has now recovered.

nice rise, looking good.

Do you take your profit though or keep.

Now that's the bit I always get wrong ...sell it and the sp continuse to rise,
keep it and see the sp plummet

I'm sure it's deliberate .. or maybe I'm just paranoid

Dealer, No you are normal. In this market getting it right more than 1 in 4 is due to luck!

either ...... sodded it up yesterday, but back in profit again .... with Wall Street reaction to (dire?) employment numbers unpredictable, my own inclination is to bank a decent profit ..... if everything suddeenly looks wonderful, then you can always buy back in .... similarly if the market dives

This market is an absloute nightmare. I have no trust in the prices before me at all.

There appear to be a hell of a lot of red herrings so catching the true rise is very difficult.

Me thinks you are right cynic, when you have your profit, got to take it.

There again if the sp went a little higher ......

In my opinion XTA is a reasonably secure hold for the next few months.
There are still rumours about that Anglo Am are interested in XTA & that VALE are still interested, though with no proposal on the table atm. Metals prices are still high & predicted to be so during 2008 & also XTA are approaching divi date.
I agree that XTA share price does fluctuate by as much as 5% some days, which makes for good trading, but either hold or trade seems like the way to go. I can't see much downside to holding this stock for the moment.

100% agreement HC.

Almost bound to hit 38 -40 again at some point in the next few weeks.
I'm no technical buff but that appears in it's favour to.

More sells than buys

But if the jobs data pushes the market the right way, this could easily hit 37 today now that the miners are back in vogue. Big if of course.

make your mind up! ..... you could always sell part as a hedge, but you have just 2 mins to decide before figures come out

just sold at 36.86

With no live prices and job data poor can't afford to lose my profit!!

took my profit too at 3682

you mean I got 4p more than you.

Ha ha ...lol

;-)

Late surge to 3716. Happy to hold for now.

Yes I know, that wasn't meant to happen lol

good for you though.

Decided to get back in at 37 as a good short term trade.

We shall see.

Heck, tis only money.

XTA regularly tests the 200 DMA which is around the 3500 mark at the moment.
I think it may be a bit early to get back in, but whatever your entry point, there looks to be a decent bounce each time.

Yes I could see that lower point of entry but rightly or wrongly decided that it was a couple of weeks away and we would have a bounce from 37 to 39-40 in the meantime.

In these markets I have become an exceptionally short-term trader.

2 mins is about right for me!

Decided to sell as the price reached my target.

At least I can make a profit on this cy which is more than I can on most of the others lol

Why don't Aim cy prices move much at all?
Very frustrating ..

Back in!

famous last words but tis strange how with some stocks you seem to be able to make a profit and with others you are just fated not to

bid rumour continues to swirl around and it's certainly good to see XTA +25 while RIO is -75, even if there is no proper foundation for same

Why is the share price dropping so shaply?

no idea, but XTA and RIO and similar are always seriously volatile, though it is easy to forget that the moves are often relatively small in % terms

The price of 'most metals' slipped today - that tends to affect the sp in the absence of rumours or other hard news, hence the apparent volatility

being totally hammered by shorters the last few days

Something to do with the closure of the australian zinc mine maybe?
Batiss Investments seem to be in major buying mode of XTA stock at present!

Yes I've noticed.
Certainly XTA has been worse affected but most of the mining stocks are well off peaks.

Although I am currently a bit wary of broker targets at the moment, XTA has a target price of 1400p, (broker consensus dated 14.07.08)
Bought in at 3414p, so anywhere near that would be acceptable for me.

trust you mean 41.00 and NOT 14.00 - lol!

Typo! Target should read 4100p.
Thanks. An error like that could have attracted a hedge fund manager or two!!!

Why is this headed south?

Maybe 'cos as they are bidding for Lonmin & their offer has been rejected, they are now gonna have to find more funding for another, higher offer. Often the bidder's sp goes down but the target's sp goes up, though wouldn't mind betting the shorters are forcing things down a bit as well.
Sp well below the 200 DMA on the chart, but picking the bottom before the bounce is very tricky, imo.

commodity prices also falling away

All commodity companies are well oversold IMO but that is the market for you.

Can't help feeling there is a bounce looming

Dollar has overshot some would say based on interest rates, big players(possibly fed to push crude down) with thin volume due to hols.So I'm hoping for weakness on cable and eurodollar that should help commod stocks. The other argument that this is sector rotation from comod stocks to value/defensives

down 11% with all the other miners.

Might buy in when it gets down to 1/share lol

down 13%

approaching 15%

diito 20%.

We're all dooooomed ..

Private Fraser, behave yourself!

yes Mr Mannering ..... :-(

Captain Mainwaring sir to you, Fraser

yes Mr mannerinrdg

The miners will go out of job soon

down 15%+

If anybody has the time, check-out the 10 year chart.

Extraordinary!

Looks like more downside to come then...back to 400p possibly when the dust is settled.

bit extreme I'd thought but there again anything is possible. £44 seems along time ago!

Well, it was a 10-bagger.

Looks like a fall from the top of Mount Everst! -about 70% from its peak.
Is anybody able to pull out a chart on the mining section as a whole?
No doubt there will be many similar falls.Aricom,a 250 co. have gone from 107 to 17.

How much lower can this go?

In practice 0p but I suspect it is testing the bottom of a few weeks ago. Will it hold there or not is the question.

Now at a price last seen 5 years ago.
good time to get in?

Been much better 3 trading days ago when it was 600p!

Been a good day trader stock so far today.

Just wondering if this yank manufacturing report due out this afternoon might put the dampners on the markets.

Do I take a nice profit it or let it run, decisions decisions.

wonder if there is anything on TV this afternoon.

Brokers estimates look very promising. just look at the NAV figures and the P/E estimates.......

Xstrata PLC

FORECASTS W
2008 2009

Date Rec Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p)

SG Securities
05-01-09 BUY 345.77 32.54 184.17 34.16

Exane BNP Paribas
05-01-09 HOLD 3,903.73 266.48 13.06 992.10 67.27 13.06

Charles Stanley
19-12-08 BUY

ING Financial Markets
12-12-08 BUY 431.55 34.12 244.21 34.12

Numis Securities Ltd
03-12-08 RED 5,279.67 367.99 36.13 1,729.56 124.45 36.13

Evolution Securities Ltd
01-12-08 RED 5,302.82 357.19 32.84 1,764.57 120.79 34.06

ABN AMRO
29-08-08 BUY 5,222.22 357.28 25.16 7,391.41 511.80 25.16

Eden Group
01-08-08 BUY

2008 2009
Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p)

Consensus 5,280.07 356.95 33.23 1,463.71 147.72 33.87
1 Month Change 2.60 4.75 1.41 -977.61 -41.98 1.35
3 Month Change -97.96 -15.31 3.45 -5163.14 -307.16 3.22


GROWTH
2007 (A) 2008 (E) 2009 (E)

Norm. EPS 33.55% 33.33% -58.62%
DPS 27.48% 43.85% 1.93%

INVESTMENT RATIOS
2007 (A) 2008 (E) 2009 (E)

EBITDA 5,251.78m 7,130.30m 4,190.60m
EBIT 4,207.80m 5,828.32m 2,367.19m
Dividend Yield 2.91% 4.19% 4.27%
Dividend Cover 11.59x 10.74x 4.36x
PER 2.96x 2.22x 5.37x
PEG 0.09f 0.07f -0.09f
Net Asset Value PS 728.19p 1,841.85p 1,881.20p

Lets get some up to date charts....

Long term chart with double bottom and breakout from a pennant.



trader chart.. go with the flow...

Just sold out actually after holding for a mnth. Decided to take my profits, maybe a little early but I'd rather bank than lose it in these mkts. All depends on how long this rally is for. Still holding PMO.

Well a profits never a profit untill you bank it yep but im going to stay put especially with base metals on the rise....

http://www.kitcometals.com/

Starting to turn positive now chaps, dont say tou werent warned.

Base metals positive again............

http://www.kitcometals.com/

Remember the present spike up in base metals is predicted to last through january so there could be plenty of upside here if you look at the chart.

really revving up now.

Bombing away, I did warn you chaps.

Very odd. just come back on. First time ever I've seen Rio etc down and XTA well up. Very strange goings on.

Hope you got out GF. Might not see these levels for a bit.

Certainly did DD at around lunch time with a lovely profit.

Its been a corker over the last week or so but like you say tomorrow could be a different ball game.

Certainly one to go for when we have got past the next spike down to lows on the ftse of 3600 or less and then onto recovery. All imho.

Nice trade today on XTA. Long close to the bottom and out 720p.

Been a long time since I've been able to trade like that but sensed it was on today.

Can't wait for these crap markets to sort themselves out.

Another in and out yesterday and today.

Suspect I've got out too early but with Citigroup results at 11am anything can and probably will happen. A profit is a profit and in these markets that is rare!

Yep well done DD had the flu this week so been inactive.

Just looking at mondays crystal ball here, problem is the US is closed for a holiday and then the new president gets sworn in the day after.

Looks like we could keep stable with base metal prices up before the Chinese hols starting about the 26th.

See this report from friday......http://www.kitco.com/reports/platts_jan162009.pdf

Loads err money.

corker of a trading stock.

Yes but it has suddenly been sold off over the past 30 mins.
It was recommended as a top pick a few days ago which probably explains the rise. Looks as though it is over now for the moment.

best to use daily S/bets with this one DD I reckon.

Quick to take money off the table.

hope your doing well.

A positive for XTA

Reuters

METALS-Copper hits 2-month high on China demand hopes

02.09.09, 12:20 PM EST

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/02/09/2009-02-09T172030Z_01_L9238389_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-METALS-UPDATE-6.html

Will copper recover sooner than people think?

A review of what is happening in copper supply suggests that losses in output through closures and project abandonments may be sufficient to turn the market round quicker than many analysts would seem to contemplate.

Author: Chris Welch
Posted: Tuesday , 17 Feb 2009

http://www.mineweb.co.za/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page36?oid=78568&sn=Detail




http://www.mineweb.co.za/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page36?oid=78568&sn=Detail

huge drop here.
something to do with the rights issue no doubt

Yep it was predicted, its no suprise.

Stock split/similar or whatever they call it these days.

Stay clear at the moment because huge protest by shareholders because of XTA's decision to acquire Colombian's Glencore.
And rights issue is not a good option.

certainly wouldnt buy them H98.

You short?.

Rights came out at 210p...of course, I'm shorting.

oooooooooooooooohh you are brave.

Or maybe a fool I am. Wish me luck.

You will probably need it H98 given the volatility of that stock.

Cant remember a stock so volatile over the course of a day during december and january.

It gave me and some of the lads over the road grey hair in that short period.

Not sure how quick it is now, but best of luck.

does anyone know if xta has had its rights issue yet ? 350p seems very low on this stock.

Subscription for rights @2.10 per share to be in by 5pm. 10/3/09 at selftrade.

thanks steve52.

It was around 650 before the announcement. %50 fall for improving cash position.

Autonomy issued shares at 3 ish when it was 450p. After taking over another company, it recovered to its highs and passed to 12 now.

PE =3
By the way, GE credit rating is cut, but share price moved up just 10%. Not fair!

I think it`s the last day to take up rights at 2.10p

Have you taken up?

not yet.

When can the new shares be traded?

Monday 18 March

Monday is the 16th lol

He meant April!!

don't the new shares start trading til then?

Epic. XTAN rights. current price 140/141 if your interested

Yep, I've got it on my stockwatch.

is the bid/offer SP of XTAN the wrong way around?
It appears you can buy them for 120p and sell at 190p. but shows a buy for 185p.
or am i missing something?[quite probably!!!]

ahoj,

this link may hold the answer to your question [your post 193]
http://www.xstrata.com/announcements20090129/

worth putting back on the "close watch" list ...... now the rights issue is out of the way and virtually completely taken up, there could now be some decent life left in this old dog

Telegraph
Wednesday 20 May 2009 | Market Report

Mining companies peppered the leaderboard as base metal moved higher. Anglo American topped the blue-chip risers, putting on 112p to 16.00. Xstrata also climbed 31 to 648p as vague talk circulated of a possible merger with Anglo American.

May 21, 2009

Minco Has Led Xstrata To A Very Exciting Base Metal Project In Ireland

Charles Wyatt

Minco, the Irish base metal explorer, has announced an intercept from drilling at the Pallas Green project in Co Limerick which makes even the case hardened geologists at Xstrata gasp. It hit 3.45 metres grading 24.2% zinc and 5.43% lead, which were the highest grades ever recorded at Pallas Green, at a depth of 330.9 metres. This depth is significant as drilling in the past has concentrated on the southern extension of the Tobermalug deposit down to a depth of 500 metres, so this northwest extension is shallower and higher grade. According to Terence McKillen, the chief executive, this hole and three earlier ones confirm the potential of the northwest extension which now extends over a 1,000 metre length and remains open ended.
He went on this extension is located in the hangingwall of a west-northwest striking fault, the Caherconlish Fault, which is associated with higher grade mineralization within the main Tobermalug deposit to the southeast. It should add significantly to the overall zinc-lead resource at Tobermalug. Four drills are now working at Pallas Green as compared with fifteen towards the end of last year. Three of these are exploring the southern extension and one of these will be moved to the northwest extension where it is planned that a programme of four additional holes will be completed by the end of June.

The Pallas Green project is a joint venture between little Minco and the rather bigger Xstrata and four diamond drills have drilled 5,380 metres between 1 January and 30 April this year. A resource estimate should be announced shortly according to people near the company, but it will not take account of the results from this latest drilling. Pallas Green is located on the southern boundary of the Irish Midland orefield and drilling to date has resulted in the discovery of a significant cluster of zinc-lead massive sulphide lenses at Castlegarde, Shrane West, Caherconlish and Tobermalug. This cluster of deposits is thought to be comparable to the mineralised clusters currently being mined at Lisheen and Galmoy approximately 50 kilometres to the northeast.

The carbonate-hosted zinc-lead deposit at Lisheen was discovered in 1990 and mineralization occurs as massive flat lying sulphide lenses at the base of a reef in the northern hanging wall of the Killoran Fault. This description alone is so similar to Pallas Green that it is hardly surprising that Xstrata rates it highly. Anglo American owns and operates Lisheen and in 2007 this underground mine produced 174,435 tonnes of zinc and 20,192 tonnes of lead in concentrate from ore grading 12.01% zinc and 1.91% lead. The Galmoy deposit is owned and operated by Lundin Mining and production commenced in arly 1997. The geological setting is similar to Lisheen, and by inference to Pallas Green where the alternation trend is analogous to the Lisheen alteration trend.

Ireland is an established regional zinc producer supplying around half of Europes mine production and the exploration drilling programme in progress at Pallas Green is reckoned to be the biggest in the 50 year modern history of the Irish mining industry. A budget of 1.5million was agreed for the first half of this year and Minco has paid its share which is in line with its 23.6 per cent interest. It is becoming ever more clear that Xstrata thinks it may have a mine on its hands as the work programme for this year involves a preliminary scoping study which will include a resource estimate, a preliminary mining plan and a preliminary metallurgical report. Work will also be undertaken on cost estimates and environmental baseline studies though both of these will be at an early stage. The programme and budget for the second half of the year will be decided once this scoping study has been reviewed and drilling results received. As a sign of how seriously Xstrata is taking this project all drill cores are being sent out to its Canadian facilities.

There seems little doubt that Minco will have to raise some money when the budget for the second half is agreed as it would not want to be diluted. Presumably at that stage it will raise its profile a bit as at the moment it suffers from the fact that its operations are in Ireland, but its management, in the shape of chairman John Kearney and chief executive Terence McKillen, is based in Canada. The Pallas Green project is a great example of the local Minco minnow leading the Xstrata whale to a project with great potential.

So Andrew Milligan is selling.

o Why is he selling?
o Where is he sticking the cash?

http://www.standardlifeinvestments.com/market_views/video_view_and_mp3s/index.html

Xstrata resumes dividend, profits slump as demand falls
Business Financial Newswire


Anglo-Swiss mining company Xstrata reported operating EBITDA of $7bn in the year to end-December 2009, despite unprecedented destocking in the first half and lower demand and average prices in 2009 as a result of the global downturn.

Revenue fell 16% to $23.53bn, down from $27.952bn the prior year, while attributable profit slipped 41% to $2.773bn, down from $4.698bn. The company said its rapid and comprehensive response to the downturn delivered real cost savings of $501m, representing a 5% reduction in the operating cost base.

The accelerated transformation of Xstrata Nickel operations and restructuring and expansion of Xstrata Zinc's Australian operations reduced average C1 nickel and zinc costs by 33% and 25% respectively.

Xstrata reported operational cash flow of over $5.3bn, with stronger second half cash generation of $3.7bn.

A dividend of 8 cents per share was proposed for payment in May 2010.

Gearing was reduced to 26% from 40%, and a successful rights issue in the first quarter to repay a net $3.7bn of debt.

Xstrata said it has over $8bn of projects currently in construction, with a further $9bn of projects due to be approved in 2010, providing it with significant volume growth to benefit from continued robust demand from Asian and other industrialising economies.

Xstrata to suspend Tahmoor mine in 1 week lockout

from another bb

'BROKER CALL: Morgan Stanley keen on Xstrata 9 February, 2010 07:48:49 AM Morgan Stanley punting Xstrata heavily this morning with an overweight recommendation reckons there is 100% upside from current levels to its buy case of c1900p a share. Price target is 1457p. Broker adds: 'We think the risk-reward at Xstrata is compelling and that the pull-back presents a medium-term buying opportunity.' http://www.intermarketstocks.com/imsmembers/imsnewsdetails.php?id=3584;

Why has spread gone negative i.e. -12%

Damn, missed the golden cross.

Part of the Morgan Stanley note:
"Our highest-conviction commodity exposures are in Base (copper, nickel and tin) and Precious Metals (gold, silver and palladium) in the short term. We expect Bulk commodities to trade in narrow ranges close to current prices over the coming quarter, and our preferred exposure here is iron ore and thermal coal. Our highest conviction Overweight equities include: Implats Limited, Xstrata, Kazakhmys, Mechel."

Xstrata to join forces with Glencore.

Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata confirmed today that it has received an approach from and is in discussions with Glencore International regarding an all share merger of equals which may or may not lead to an offer being made by Glencore for Xstrata.

The group said in a brief statement that there can be no certainty that any offer will be made.

In accordance with Rule 2.6 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, Glencore is now required, by no later than 5:00 p.m. on 1st March 2012, to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the Company in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies.

Any further announcement will be made as appropriate, Xstrata said.

for all this, you wouldn't have wanted to be holding these even for say the last year, for XTA really has underperformed badly

Recommended All-Share Merger of Equals

RECOMMENDED ALL-SHARE MERGER OF EQUALS OF
GLENCORE INTERNATIONAL PLC AND XSTRATA PLC
TO CREATE UNIQUE $90 BILLION NATURAL RESOURCES GROUP

Xstrata hikes dividend

Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata This morning reported operating EBITDA of $11.6bn for the year to end-December, up 12% on the previous year.

Attributable profit was $5.8bn, up 12%.

A final dividend of 27¢ per share is proposed, bringing the full year dividend to 40¢, a 60% increase on 2010.

Operational performance:

o Key organic growth milestones reached with ten projects and expansions completed during 2011

o Strong second half production with record annual production of coal and nickel

o Real cost savings of $391 million, moving all commodity businesses into lower half of industry cost curves

o Expansion of mineral resource base, including significant additional copper resource

o Six bolt-on acquisitions supplementing growth

o Continued improvement in safety and environmental performance; 26% improvement in total recordable injuries versus 2010

o Dow Jones Sustainability Index Sector Leader for fifth consecutive year

This come amid a recommended all-share merger between Glencore and Xstrata to create a major $90bn natural resources group with a unique business model, fully integrated along the commodities value chain, from mining and processing, storage, freight and logistics, to marketing and sales.

Xstrata to lift copper, iron ore mining in Australia

SYDNEY | Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:48am BST

(Reuters) - Global miner Xstrata (XTA.L) will boost copper production in Australia by 140,000 tonnes over the next five years from a new mine, which will also yield more than a half-million tonnes of iron ore, the company said on Tuesday.

Glencore offers no Xstrata clues as profit falls

LONDON | Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:29am BST

(Reuters) - Commodities trader Glencore (GLEN.L) stuck to its guns on a $30 billion (19 billion pounds) bid for miner Xstrata (XTA.L) on Tuesday, as it reported earnings for the first half of 2012 dragged down 26 percent by weaker commodity prices.

Glencore said its first half profit net of significant items fell to $1.81 billion, down from $2.44 billion a year ago and marginally above analysts' expectations of $1.6 billion, according to consensus forecasts.

Its operating profit fell 24 percent to almost $2.51 billion, again topping forecasts.

Glencore, already the single largest shareholder in Xstrata with a 34 percent stake, announced in February it would bid for the stock it does not already own, offering 2.8 new shares for every Xstrata share held. It has met with resistance, however, from Qatar Holding, Xstrata's second-largest investor, which in June demanded a ratio of 3.25. (Reporting by Clara Ferreira-Marques; Editing by Andrew Callus)

..Sir John Bond urged to step down after 'failure' of £45bn Glenstrata deal

By Emma Rowley | Telegraph –

Sir John Bond, chairman of Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) , is under pressure from his shareholders to step down in the wake of the miner's faltering £45bn merger with commodity giant Glencore, which is expected to be voted down this week.

Ahead of Friday's shareholder vote on the deal, unhappy Xstrata investors have questioned how the City grandee can stay in the role with the board-backed merger expected to fail.

Knight Vinke, the activist investor which holds around 0.5pc of Xstrata, on Friday issued a statement in which it said if the deal collapses it will agitate for a change in the board's make-up to make it more "independent and robust". The Sunday Telegraph understands the fund is scrutinising the roles of the chairman, Sir John, as well as David Rough, the senior independent non-executive, amid concerns as to how they have fulfilled their role of standing up to management to represent the interests of smaller shareholders.

Neil Dwane, chief investment officer for Europe (Chicago Options: ^REURUSD - news) at Allianz Global Investors, a minority shareholder in Xstrata, said the board does not appear to have fought sufficiently for a higher offer, even after a key investor, Qatar Holding, emerged demanding a better deal.

"The chairman and CEO have frequently in meetings argued for the deal despite shareholder disappointment," he said. "So one might conclude that the company will need a new chairman to start with and maybe other new non-execs."

Xstrata is thought to contest criticism of its board, believing that if Glencore let the deal collapse that would indicate board members did get the best offer possible for shareholders. The miner also structured the deal through a scheme of arrangement that needs 75pc of those entitled to vote to approve the deal.

Qatar Holding, the second biggest investor in Xstrata after Glencore, threw the FTSE 100 (Euronext: VFTSE.NX - news) tie-up off course with its demands that the commodity trader raise its offer from the 2.8 of its shares for each Xstrata share.

With Glencore understood to question the logic of the Qataris' valuation and adamant it will walk away from a bad deal, a last-minute bump to save the merger looks unlikely. Despite this, the City has not yet written off the chance of the merger happening.

Shares in Xstrata and Glencore both rose on Friday, almost 6pc and 8pc respectively, which broker sources said was driven by merger arbitrage funds hedge funds that make money by betting on M&A going long on Xstrata and shorting Glencore.

Their buying was said to represent a bet that Glencore will bump its offer in the next few days. The short interest in Glencore was mitigated by buying by institutional investors as it is reweighted in share indices to reflect its increased free float

XTA should be 1050p, given the price of Glen. Too cheap imo.

ahoj --- Glencore/Xstrata deal if aproved values xstrata at 1034p

The major shareholder, who was originally opposed, agreed yesterday.
(Glen @ 345) x 3.05 = 1052 per xta

well their you go, wish i had put my spare 10k into xta instead of tesco for the divi last week !!!!
suppose its not to late, when do you have to hold by to get the glen shares?

Sorry, No idea. But I know that high food prices improves revenue for Glen, and the profit will beat easily. XTA worth the price and should move well above 1200 by the day if not by the end of this year!! ALL IMO