New Thread as requested by Wirral Owl.

6 Months Chart:-



10 Day Chart:-



Cheers

Ash

THis probably explains the recent fall!

May dip a tad in the morning, but IMHO not too much, and I do expect AVM to recover fairly quickly.

Now if they would start to unwind that hedge!
======================================================================

Minews Story
Date: April 08, 2005

Avocet May Undershoot Its Target Of 300,000 Ozs In 2005, But Not By Much.

Heads have to roll from time to time and it looks as if chief operating officer Johannes Oelofse has had to carry the can for the disappointing progress by AIM listed Avocet Mining at its Zeravshan gold mine in Tajikistan. Production for the 3rd quarter to end 2004 amounted to only 11,437 ozs gold as compared with 12,638 ozs in the previous quarter and this meant that production for the first nine months of the year to end March was 34,435 ozs compared with 49,743 in 2003. The company pencilled in production of 100,000 ozs annually from this mine when it last claimed in mid- 2004 that it was on track for group production of 300,000 ozs by the end of 2005. At that time production costs were still way too high at US$322/oz and the company had decided to throw money at it with US$8 million budgeted over the next 18 months on an expanded mining fleet, plant and infrastructure refurbishment and the installation of a 2.5 million tonne/year dump leach facility.

The benefits of this were delayed as it took longer than anticipated to restructure the ownership of the Zeravshan Gold Company which was a pre-condition for the company’s commitment to purchasing this mining equipment. Diesel was also in short supply and the reduction in high grade ore for the plant meant that the gap had to be filled by low grade stockpiles. One of its two SAG mills broke down last September and the winter weather was bad which added to problems. In fact the only good news was that a positive feasibility study was completed on the dump leach project which is a key component in the expansion and cost reduction programme. Trial underground mining and processing of ore from the nearby Taror underground project was also completed last autumn and the impact should start to be felt this year.

Into the breach has stepped Gordon Toll as technical director and his initial brief is clearly to get Zeravshan fixed. He certainly has to the right experience and credentials as his career has included four years as production manager with BHP Iron Ore in Australia and manager of Mining International for TexasGulf International. In the 1980s he was involved in building two world-class coal mines for Atlantic Richfiedl Coal and then worked for Rio Tinto, ending as group mining executive in London. He was then chairman of Emperor Gold Mines, an Aussie company producing gold in Jiji and until last Christmas was deputy chairman of Ivanhoe Mines. Anyone who survives working with Robert Friedland has not only to be good at his job, but tough to boot. He is also still on the board of Fortescue Metals which may, or may not, prove to be a good thing.

The engine room for Avocet is still the Penjom mine in Malaysia which looks as if it should have hit its 120,000 ozs target in 2004/5. The cash flow from this mine over the past three years has cut the borrowings from around 30 million to nil and it is a pity that the company still has a hedging programme round its neck to satisfy a banking covenant. It may be only 80,000 ozs, but at some time Avocet has to sell these ounces of gold for a pitiful US$300/oz. At the nine month stage it had produced 87,585 ozs which was a slight reduction due to downtime for modifications and additions to the plant which will improve performance over time and allow harder ores to be processed.

Looking ahead the North Lanut mine in Indonesia achieved its first gold pour back in October when 675 ozs of gold was produced. Since then, according to a comment on gold production in the December issued in February, gold has been accumulated in solution while open pit mining and plant operations are brought to full capacity.. At that time John Catchpole, the CEO, said that optimisation would be reached in three months when annualised production of over 60,000 ounces of gold is expected. If Avocet is going to achieve its target of 300,000 ozs in 2005/6 Penjom will have to maintain its present level of production, Lanut will have to boost its contribution to 80,000 ozs and Zeravshan will have to chip in 100,000 ozs. This is a big ask, but Gordon Toll must have known he was not going to have an easy ride when he took the job and it would be unwise to bet too much money against him succeeding. It may just be that Zeravshan will not hit its target until 2006 when operations at Jilau have been enhanced and in the meantime the final feasibility at Taror will have been completed.

With operations in three country’s Avocet spent US$5 million on exploration last year. Steady progress is being made at Penjom in bringing more reserves into the mining plan and some excellent intercepts continue to be made to the north of the Kalampong open pit including 8 metres at 38.1 g/t and another 8 metres at 29.7 g/t gold. Bullion Reef is now going to be worked initially as a satellite to Penjom for its near surface oxide ore and exploration will then be carried out to test its deeper potential. Work is also in progress in and around North Lanut to boost reserves and identify another project for future development. Bakan is particularly interesting as Newmont did some drilling there so Peter Flindell must know where all the bones are buried as he was exploration manager for Newmont in the area before joining Avocet. For shareholders the good news is that the company now really seems to know where it is going.

Minews Story
Date: July 20, 2005

Avocet Mining Should be Poised For A Strong Run Over The Next 2/3 Years.

The latest results from AIM listed Avocet Mining are mostly good, but there are a couple of points on which investors should keep a close eye. To be fair they are considerably better than the curates egg which was only good in parts, so we will start with the good bits. The company sold 171,092 ozs of gold during the year to end March 2005 and the new mine at North Lanut in Indonesia only contributed 6,108 ozs to this as it had to contend with some very wet weather. Nevertheless it is up and running and should produce around 50,000 ozs this year with the cash cost falling as gold production flows from the heap leach pads. The important thing is that the company now has no debt; its operating profit increased by 11 per cent ; and there are mutterings about paying a dividend in the reasonably near future.

The Penjom mine in Malaysia is the work horse of the company and produced 120,000 ozs of gold last year. How long its resources stretch ahead of it is impossible to say, but it probably has more years ahead of it than when it first went into production five years ago and Nigel McNair Scott, chairman of the company, is confident that there is at least another million ozs of mineable ore with future underground operations looking viable now that the underground exploration drive has confirmed mineralization beyond the limits of the current pit. Having said that, the geology of the mine is complex and ore grades and ore tonnes exceeded those modelled by 28 per cent and 20 per cent last year so the chairman may be erring on the conservative side.

Exploration is key to the companys future at all three of its projects and here Peter Flindell, who joined the company as chief geologist in 2002, is playing a blinder.. During his career with Newmont, part of which was spent as exploration manager of the western Pacific region, he played a leading role in the exploration and development of the two million ounce Mesel gold mine in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, and was responsible for the discovery of Avocet's North Lanut project which is about 40 km from Mesel. He was also involved in the early assessment and evaluation of Newmont's US$2 billion Batu Hijau copper-gold mine in Sumbawa, Indonesia. He likes the region and has identified six targets for new tenement applications in Malaysia. Good results are also reported from the Buffalo Reef prospect about 40 kms from Penjom and could become a satellite producer.

In Indonesia also a number of drill targets are being evaluated in the region around North Lanut and elsewhere in Indonesia great hopes are expressed that the Idenburg property may prove to host a multi-million ounce , high grade reserve amenable to conventional carbon-in-leach recovery treatment. Avocet is going to spend US$2.5 million over 2 years to earn a 51 per cent interest in the company which owns Idenburg and this brings with it exploration as well as mining rights over 420 sq miles of Papua province on the island of New Guinea where the huge Porgera and Grasberg mines are situated. Exploration permits have also been obtained over an area in South Sulawesi which has geology similar to that at Penjom.

The venture in Tajikistan has caused pain to Avocet ever since its acquisition three yers ago, but there are now real signs that it could start to pay for itself. Avocets interest in Zeravshan, the holding company, has now increased to 75 per cent and it is in partnership with the government. This took longer than expected and delayed capital investment in the mining fleet at the Jilau Main open pit which, in turn, hit production. Price increases in diesel, steel and cyanide also pushed up costs, but that has been par for the course in mining over the past year. In order to mitigate the impact a dump heap leaching operation facility will now treat low grade ore categorised as waste in the past.

Zeravshan also has two other gold projects which are at advanced stages. Taror is an underground mine with complex refractory ore and Chore is less advanced and the ore less refractory. At one stage the company was thinking about trucking ore from Taror to Jilau, but has now returned to first base and is seeking an efficient recovery system for the combined mines using, perhaps, biological pre-treatment. There have been many advances in this technology in recent years so Avocet is re-visiting a pre-feasibility study carried out in 2000 which worked on a base case of 500,000 tonnes/year throughput to produce 130,000 ozs over a 16 year life at a cash cosst of US$170/oz. The important thing is to get Jilau operating efficiently and the other mines into production as the Russians left no doubt that resources in the region totalled at least 6 million ozs.

Lastly there is hedging. The sooner Avocet gets rid of its outstanding spot deferred hedge position, the sooner it can think of paying a dividend. Last year Avocet only delivered 14,000 ozs at the average delivery price obligation of US$300 so lost US$1.6 million against its average sale price. This year it is going to deliver 48,000 ozs which will cost it US$5.76 million and it will still have another 18,000 ozs to go. A sad commentary on the positions into which banks force junior companies requiring development capital. The said bank, Macquarie, is currently offering the company a revolving US$10 million credit facility. Some shareholders may think it should put the facility where the monkey puts its nuts. There is always another bank round the corner.

Can anyone tell me what the consequences are here relating to capital re-organisation.

Thanks.

Capital Reduction Approved

At a hearing on 7 December 2005 , the High Court approved the Avocet
Mining PLC reduction of capital and cancellation of share premium
account. The reduction of capital became effective on 8 December 2005
whereupon the nominal value of each New Ordinary Share of Avocet Mining
PLC was reduced to 5.0 pence from 25.0 pence.

This 'gem' of a company is little discussed here.
A very nice announcement this morning
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=1201473
The share price is heading northwards (even chartists will find it very bullish !!)

;o)

Avocet Mining signs earn-in agreement with Dynasty Gold on Chinese gold project
AFX


LONDON (AFX) - Avocet Mining PLC said it signed an agreement with Dynasty Gold Corp to earn up to 36 pct of Dynasty's interests in Xinjiang Province in China.

Dynasty controls a large area of prospective ground in Western China, including 1,000 km2 at Hatu in Xinjiang Province. Under the agreement Avocet can invest up to 1.8 mln usd in the Hatu joint venture by end March 2007.

Hatu has an independently verified inferred resource of 16.86 mln tonnes at 1.68 grammes a tonne of gold (912,600 ounces of gold).

AIM-listed Avocet holds a 29 pct stake in Dynasty.

newsdesk@afxnews.com

jc

Andy

Could this be the next stellar performing mining stock ?

ianayel,

Possibly, but it has advanced somewhat since the early days, but I know some people that think AVM is one of the cheapest gold miners in london, and compares exceeedingly well when you check out Peter Hambro for instance.

Andy,

You are right about AVM being one of the cheapest gold miners in london, and it certainly does compares exceeedingly well when you check out other Gold miners, specially after the latest RNS. Seymour Pierce, obviously like the new agreement with Dynasty Gold, they brought out a BUY recommendation on Avocet Mining (LSE: AVM.L ) on Friday 3rd March 06.

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/060303/336/g5gj5.html

Avocet Mining PLC
20 March 2006

Avocet Mining Plc

20 March 2006

ZGC RESOURCES INCREASE SUBSTANTIALLY AT JILAU PIT

Avocet Mining PLC ('Avocet' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce an increase
in the gold resources at ZGC's Jilau operations in Tajikistan of 802,000 ounces
to over 2.7 million ounces of contained gold. This represents a 40% increase in
the resource base net of depletion. ZGC now has total resources of 5.6 million
ounces of contained gold that meet the guidelines of the JORC code. These are
contained in the Jilau, Khirskhona, Taror and Chore deposits. The 3,000km2 joint
venture area controlled by ZGC contains an additional 11.3 million ounces of
resources categorised by Soviet standards (C+P), but not to JORC compliant
standards.

In November 2004, Avocet increased its equity interest in ZGC from 49% to 75%
(the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan holds the remaining 25%). The
Company then commenced an expansion and refurbishment of operations with the
main objectives of increasing gold production and lowering unit costs. Part of
that expansion plan was infill and definition drilling in and around the main
Jilau open pit, known as Jilau Main. Drilling and ongoing waste stripping in the
pit has now merged the Jilau Main and Jilau North open pits into the one Jilau
Pit.

Exploration results increased the resource base for the Jilau Pit by 389,000
ounces using a 0.5 g/t Au cut off grade and net of depletion. However, with the
successful commencement of low-cost dump leach operations adjacent to the Jilau
Pit and our ability to treat low-grade ore, the cut-off grade has now been
lowered to 0.3 g/t Au. This has contributed to an overall resource increase for
the Jilau Pit of 645,000 ounces to a total of 2,317,100 ounces gold. Additional
drilling at the smaller Khirskhona open pit to the north has increased resources
by 157,000 ounces to 421,700 ounces above a 0.3 g/t Au cut-off. All deposits
remain open at depth and along strike. The Company is confident of future
significant increases in the resource base for Jilau's operations.

The table below lists the revised resources in the Jilau district using
a 0.3 g/t cut-off:

Measured + Indicated Inferred Total
tonnes grade tonnes grade tonnes grade
ounces ounces ounces

Jilau Main 38,670,100 1.05 28,215,900 0.79 66,886,000 0.94
1,304,500 716,200 2,020,700

Jilau North 4,145,000 0.90 5,158,400 1.06 9,303,800 0.99
120,300 176,100 296,400

Khirskhona 9,449,000 0.73 6,835,000 0.91 16,284,000 0.81
222,400 199,300 421,700

Total Jilau 52,264,500 0.98 40,209,300 0.84 92,473,800 0.92
Pits 1,647,200 1,091,600 2,738,800

ZGC will complete a new mine production schedule based on the expanded resources
by May 2006. Given Jilau's resource potential, the Company is looking at options
to increase substantially gold production above the 85,000 ounces per year
currently planned.

Current operations at Jilau are concentrated on waste removal at the Jilau Pit
where the Company expects to reach consistent high grade ore by the summer of
2006. This should allow the operation to return to break even cash flow with a
substantial pick up in gold production from the current level of approximately
3,000 ounces per month.

All references to resources and exploration results have been approved for
release by Mr. Peter Flindell, BSc (Hons) MAusIMM, Chief Geologist for Avocet,
who has more than 20 years experience in the field of activity concerned and is
a Competent Person as defined by the JORC Code (2004). He has consented to the
inclusion of the material in the form and context in which it appears.

Avocet is a mining company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock
Exchange. The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in
Malaysia (as 100% owner of the Penjom mine, the country's largest gold
producer), Tajikistan (as 75% owner and operator of the ZGC, Tajikistan's
principal gold mine), and Indonesia (as 80% owner of the North Lanut gold mine
in North Sulawesi). The Company has a number of advanced mining and exploration
projects in Asia and owns 29% of Dynasty Gold Corporation, a Canadian listed
exploration company active in Western China.

For further information please contact:

Avocet Mining PLC
John Catchpole (Chief Executive)
Jonathan Henry (Finance Director)
020 7907 9000




This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Excellent news ANDY!

"Could this be the next stellar performing mining stock ? "

Ian, it looks like that doesn't it? 40% increase in the resource base net of depletion, SP has started ticking up. I am sure we will see a gradual mark up.

Why gold miners are set for further gains

An interesting article -"It is our view that gold bullion is probably headed to $1,000oz and on that basis we would want the portfolios to remain exposed to what we believe to be a very considerable investment opportunity......."

Cont......http://www.moneyweek.com/file/9832/why-gold-miners-are-set-for-further-gains.html

Any news on this drop in SP ?
I know of the substantial shareholdings RNS but nothing else.

profit taking in line with major miners ! Just a breather before another leg up as gold continues its relentless approach to the magical $1000!!

Avocet Mining PLC
20 June 2006

Avocet Mining PLC

20 June 2006

MORE POSITIVE DRILL RESULTS CONFIRM RESOURCE POTENTIAL

AT OSELA IN THE BAKAN DISTRICT, INDONESIA

Avocet Mining PLC ('Avocet' or 'the Company'), the Central and South East Asian
gold production and exploration company, is pleased to announce continued
exploration success from first-phase resource-definition drilling at Osela. This
is the second advanced prospect in the Bakan District in the Company's 80% owned
Mongondow Contract of Work ('CoW'), the other being the Durian prospect. The
Bakan District is approximately 25km west of the Company's North Lanut mining
operation and is the main new initiative in the CoW.

The results of drilling in the Bakan District have the potential to add over
500,000 ounces of gold to the Company's resource base, which is above the
initial expectations announced by of the Company last year. Additionally, the
Bakan District has the potential for a significantly larger resource than this
being discovered on account of additional mineralisation already identified in
the Camp and Main Ridge areas (see press release of 11 July 2005).

Avocet reported significant intercepts from resource drilling at Durian on 29
March 2006 as a follow-up to the results of scout drilling reported on 11 July
and 16 November 2005. More recently, the Company has completed a 35-hole (3,400
metres) resource-definition diamond drilling programme at Osela, approximately
2,000 metres northeast of Durian. This programme, drilled on 50-metre centres,
has confirmed oxidised, high-sulphidation epithermal mineralisation over a
strike length of 1,000 metres. The zone consists of high-grade mineralisation at
North Osela, which is developed over a minimum strike length of 400 metres,
width of 25-100 metres and depth of up to 100 metres from surface. South Osela
is lower-grade, but includes a near-surface, supergene gold zone covering an
area of 300m by 100m with a thickness of 6-20 metres. Drilling in the area
between the North and South zones has intersected a silica-alunite alteration,
suggesting that the two are co-joined, though a slower than anticipated
laboratory turnaround has delayed processing of drill core samples from this
link zone.

The drilling results discovered significant intercepts from the majority of the
Osela drilling programme (Table 1). These include 41m @ 2.31 g/t Au (incl. 4m @
9.24 g/t Au), 54m at 2.58 g/t Au (incl. 4m @ 21.2 g/t Au), 50m at 2.79 g/t Au,
56m at 2.13 g/t Au, 54m @ 2.58 g/t Au (incl. 4m @ 28.7 g/t Au) and 30m @ 3.16
g/t Au (incl. 12m @ 6.01 g/t Au).

The style of mineralisation at Osela is similar to that at Durian and the
Company's Riska deposit, currently being mined at North Lanut. The high grade
intercepts at North Osela are associated with a near surface
halloysite-kaolinite alteration (after alunite) and chalcedonic silica-sulphide
at depth. The former is due to supergene enrichment while the latter is hypogene
mineralisation in the form of veins and replacement alteration. Gold
mineralisation in both North and South Osela are broadly distributed in NNE-SSW
to NE-SW trending structures. The occurrence of near-surface ore zones in both
North and South Osela will have a positive impact on the economics of the
potential resources. Osela, like the Durian deposit, is situated on a ridge,
which further minimises the potential waste to ore stripping ratios.

Metallurgical test work is underway to confirm preliminary results that show the
ore is amenable to the low cost dump leaching process employed at North Lanut.
Drilling rigs are currently collecting additional sample for comprehensive
metallurgical test work, including coarse particle column leach tests, and will
commence infill reserve drilling shortly.

Formal grade modelling is underway with the conversion of the resource to the
indicated and inferred category during July 2006, followed by feasibility work
to construct a new mine expected to commence production by 2008.

All references to resources and exploration results have been approved for
release by Mr Peter Flindell, BSc (Hons) MAusIMM, Chief Geologist for Avocet,
who has more than 20 years experience in the field of activity concerned and is
a Competent Person as defined by the JORC Code (2004). He has consented to the
inclusion of the material in the form and context in which it appears.

John Catchpole, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

'These drill results from Osela, combined with those from Durian that we
announced in March, indicate that the oxidised portion of the orebody may be
more extensive than we had first thought from the initial phase of drilling. We
remain confident that the Bakan District has the potential to host at least
500,000 ounces and possibly much more.'

. see link below

Final results

Keep this on your watchlist :-)

more great news today on both fronts.

cant understand why no-one chats on this......its a great nest egg

almost on CGT on this alone....and thats without SCTN

New article, click HERE

Bottom wedge breakout imminent looks that way......



Fundies good aswell........

Avocet Mining PLC

FORECASTS
2009 2010

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

Arbuthnot Securities
07-05-09 BUY 16.19 7.73 11.28 4.36

Evolution Securities Ltd
01-05-09 ADD 12.23 6.01 20.79 11.38

Investec Securities
09-03-09 HOLD 27.61 14.54 21.96 11.38

2009 2010
Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax () EPS
(p) DPS (p)

Consensus 14.34 6.93 21.26 11.38
1 Month Change -0.02 0.00 -0.01 0.00
3 Month Change 1.32 0.62 -0.05 0.00


GROWTH
2008 (A) 2009 (E) 2010 (E)
Norm. EPS -51.12% 58.59% 64.21%
DPS % % %

INVESTMENT RATIOS
2008 (A) 2009 (E) 2010 (E)

EBITDA 26.42m 21.90m 27.78m

EBIT 19.64m 14.08m 9.98m

Dividend Yield % % %

Dividend Cover x x x

PER 17.45x 11.00x 6.70x

PEG -0.34f 0.19f 0.10f

Net Asset Value PS 51.79p p p