Interesting little company. Did a series of asset swops to leave them with half of the 4th largest Nickel deposit in the world.
The deposit itself is in the Philippines has been known about for 30 years but due to low prices and lack of demand in the Far East it was never exploited. With the explosion in demand from India and China the nickel price has climbed from $2 to $6.50 but oddly enough is still considered low.
The final approval stage for exploitation is just about to be approved and extraction will begin. The company already has one contract with a Japanese smelter and is in discussions with smelters in a series of countries.
Nothing clever about the operation, as the ore is of sufficiently high grade, they dig it up and ship it out. Infrastrucure is already in place for operation.
TMC is currently priced at 18m, the initial Japanese contract is worth 4m and each additional contract will hopefully be at this level or greater.
Final approval turns the company into a producer and each additional contract simply increases their size.
The management is tight with cash and has some good quality mining skills onboard.
The Philippine government is fast tracking the final approval and the company says it expects it shortly.
One to hold for approval and through the series of RNS's as more contracts are won. Company should be worth 50m in 6 months and 100m in 12-18 months.
Buy it, ignore it, just pointing this one out.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=127560


Palawan town to stop issuing permits for open-pit mines

By Redempto Anda Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 11:59pm (Mla time) 04/01/2008

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines -- At least 37 pending mining applications, mostly on nickel, were stopped on their tracks Monday after the local government unit of Quezon, the municipality known as the hot spot of mining projects in southern Palawan, declared it had enough with open-pit nickel mining.

"We will no longer entertain any new applications and we will not endorse any of the pending ones," Quezon town Mayor Ronilo B. Caputilla told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

Quezon hosts the south's second largest mining project, the Berong Nickel Corp. (BNC) project.

Records obtained from government agencies show that the municipality has the highest number of mining applications in the nickel-rich southern Palawan.

Asked what prompted the local government to take the same stand earlier made by the city government of Puerto Princesa, Caputilla said they were worried about the potential damage to the environment.

"With Berong (Nickel Corp.) alone, we have received too many complaints from local residents about the siltation of the river and the shorelines. We dread to see what happens if we allow more of these kinds of project," he said.

Caputilla added that the municipality was prioritizing its program to boost local coconut production.

"Our main program is about encouraging the planting of more coconuts as this will benefit more farmers and their families. With mining, only a few people benefit," he said.

Asked to comment on BNC's claim of following the world's best practice in environmental management in connection with a mining project, Caputilla claimed that the company only showed them portions of the mining project.

"They showcase areas that look okay but they don't bring their visitors to areas that are really problematic," he said.

Apart from BNC, which has a mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) approved by the previous municipal leadership, two other MPSA applications for limestone quarry were earlier approved in 2001 by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the Quezon-Central Palawan Mining and Industrial Corp. and Palawan Star Venture Mining Inc.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=128180

Mining company hits town execs over siltation claims
By Redempto Anda

Southern Luzon Bureau

First Posted 07:25pm (Mla time) 04/03/2008

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines -- The Berong Nickel Corp. (BNC), a mining company operating a large-scale nickel ore extraction project in the southern municipality of Quezon in Palawan, had criticized its host local government unit for claiming the company was covering up the environmental damages created by the mining project.

BNC environmental safety consultant Keith Halford denied Quezon Mayor Ronilo B. Caputillas said in a Philippine Daily Inquirer interview that the company, which boasts of having a world-class mining operation facility, had been hiding its failures from the public.

It simply is not true. There is no river siltation as claimed by the mayor, and we have never received a complaint of that nature, Halford told the Inquirer Wednesday.

A staff member of BNC, however, contradicted Halfords claim during a separate interview, admitting that the soil erosion systems that they had installed around the steep and sloping areas of the nickel mining concession had not been sufficient to hold water runoff that had silted the Berong river and the causeway during heavy rains.

It is true that despite great efforts by BNC to establish safety measures, there is still siltation of the river when it rains, said a technical staff member who requested not to be named.

I was there during typhoon Lando and I saw that the river and sea was blanketed in red, the source said.

Halford, however, insisted that the presence of soil erosion around their mining areas was caused by the natural physiology of the area and not by the excavation work being conducted by the mining company.

Its physiologically impossible that it came from us. Our mine site is a good 11 kilometers away and we dont release water into the river, he claimed.

Local officials have raised concern that the mining operations of BNC, which is located in a high elevation area, could further damage the towns river system and coastal marine environment, a charge that BNC officials have sought to refute.

Caputilla announced earlier this week that the municipality of Quezon, which has the highest number of pending mining applications in Palawan with 37 mining tenement claims, will no longer endorse any new mining project because of its experience with BNC.

Asked if the independent monitoring body led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had been able to verify Caputillas claim, the source said the Multisectoral Monitoring Team had not been able to reach the actual mining sites to make an adequate observation.

Halford pointed out that BNCs redundant water management systems located beside its stockpile was able to hold impounded water from two major typhoons, and that they did not release them into the connecting irrigation system unless it had been cleaned.

He added that they had prevented soil erosion from the mined-out site with the successful planting of new trees and vetiver grass.

He claimed that BNC, which began shipping nickel ore to buyers early this year, had spent over $1 million in environmental safety measures alone.

I challenge you to find anyone who has the same commitment to the environment as we do. And I hope you can find one so that it makes two of us, Halford said.

Chinese have started to invest in mining stocks. BHP is the first one.. Which one is the next?

The broker, Altium Securities, has cut Toledo Mining's target price to 70 pence from 95p.

Not surprising Chris seems more interested in IVK nowadays.

Sudden move upwarda, anybody have any news?

that's after analysts views

hlyeo98 - 18 Apr 2008 17:17 - 860 of 862
The broker, Altium Securities, has cut Toledo Mining's target price to 70 pence from 95p.

Unless there is an announcement due seems like a false market. IVK ditto.

Thanks for reminding me. Seems like Altium got it wrong

Is there any news for this massive rise? Certainly very interesting.

Possible takeover bid. BHP or Rio Tinto. I stress only rumours ut it has gone from 1 to 1.60 in 3 days.

Recent RNS shows institutional investors are disposing with their holdings.

going down from 500 to 99 is not false market. It has long way to go IMO

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storyPage.aspx?storyId=119014

Business, 5/21/2008 6:33 PM May 21, 2008

Atlas Q1 net loss widens to P225M

Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. said Wednesday its first-quarter consolidated net loss widened to P225 million from P56 million a year ago due to lower sales volume of nickel laterite ore by subsidiary, Berong Nickel Corp.

Berong is a joint venture of Atlas and London-based Toledo Mining Plc and Investika Ltd of Australia.

Atlas said consolidated revenue reached only P92 million compared to P265 million last year. It said excessive rainfall at its Berong mine resulted in lower nickel ore production.

18% of the shares traded at 200p... 40% premium.

MMs should look at their activities again..


23 May 2008

TOLEDO MINING COPORATION PLC
("Toledo" or the "Company")

DIRECTOR DEALING

The directors of Toledo Mining Corporation plc (AIM : TMC) (the
"Company") advise that the Company has today been informed that
Investika Ltd has entered an agreement with European Nickel plc (AIM
: ENK) to dispose of certain of its investments, namely 3,391,019
Toledo Mining Corporation plc shares (representing 11.5% of the
Company's issued ordinary share capital), its 18.7% equity and debt
investment in Berong Nickel Corporation and its 18.7% equity interest
in China Nickel Corporation, for a total consideration of US$39
million. The sale is conditional upon various matters being
fulfilled.

Separately as part of the same transaction, a director, Mr Chris
Kyriakou, informed the Company that on 22 May 2008 he entered an
agreement to sell 1,550,000 shares in the Company off-market to
European Nickel plc at a price of 200 pence per share. The sale is
conditional upon various matters being fulfilled. Upon completion,
Mr Kyriakou will not hold an interest in the ordinary shares in the
Company.

-Ends-

ENK pay IVK 2 per share and all the numpties think sp is going up to that level.
Its a deal between two companies and has nothing to do with trading shares.
Still peeps are buying and that is what is forcing price up along with the fact that mm's have stock to clear at a premium.
Lets see where the sp is in a few days time.
There hasn't been any fundamental change in companies value to warrant the rise. IMHO.

Ask the question why have ENK bought these shares? They could achieve control if they buy out institutional shareholders.

Yep, They couldn't buy 18.7% of shares at 200p on the market.

We shouldn't see 200p before any bid. I think 180 is a reasonable short term target.

Nickel price in China slips due to weakening demand - 29 May, 2008

Interfax China reported that decreasing nickel demand from stainless steel mills have raised market speculation that domestic nickel prices will continue to slide.

China's largest nickel and cobalt producer Gansu Jinchuan Group cut its price for 1# refined nickel by CNY 10,000 per tonne to CNY 208,000 per tonne on May 21st 2008. Jinchuan has dropped its nickel price three times in May 2008 alone. On May 8th 2008, it cuts its nickel price by CNY 7,000 and on May 15th 2008, by a further CNY 10,000.

The price of 1# nickel on the Yangtze River Nonferrous Metal Spot Market fell by CNY 1,250 to CNY 198,750 per tonne while the three month nickel price on the LME ended up 3.21% higher to USD 24,100 per tonne.

Moreover, nickel pig iron producers are finding it difficult to maintain profitability as nickel prices have taken a tumble this year. Nickel pig iron is used as a substitute for refined nickel in stainless steel production when nickel prices become too high and uneconomical for steel mills. A large amount of low grade nickel pig iron capacities came online in 2007 as Chinese stainless steel mills were not able to afford nickel prices, which were at a high at the time.

Mr Cao Kejun business manager of SUMEC International Technology Company Limited said that "Many domestic nickel pig iron producers have stopped production due to low consumption by the stainless steel market. Our sales volume of nickel pig iron has fallen this year and our company still has large nickel pig iron stockpiles."

http://steelprices-india.com/news/index/2008/05/29/MTI4OA%3D%3D/Nickel_price_in_China_slips_due_to_weakening_demand.html

no good reason to dive back in here at all ..... chart is bleak and has a stern resistance at about 130 too.