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%

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