Company has three business divisions: Mining, Transport and Water, being the first of them the most important. Antofagasta plc is one of the largest international copper producing companies in the industry. Its activities are mainly concentrated in Chile where it owns and operates three copper mines, Los Pelambres, El Tesoro and Michilla, with a total production of 498 thousand tonnes in 2004, at an average cash cost of 24.4 c/lb. The Groups mining division, Antofagasta Minerals, is also actively involved in exploration particularly in Chile and Peru. The transport division operates an extensive rail network servicing the important mining region of northern Chile, which is centred on the port of Antofagasta. The water division operates a concession for the distribution of water in this region.

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

Copper mining: 94%
Rail transport:   4%
Water:             2%

Cheers cynic. Talk about volatility!! "up and down like a yo-yo" doesn't even begin to tell the tale!!! Need to tread very carefully until things settle down.

so a couple of weeks has now passed and normality has returned to the markets, at least for the time being ..... with commodities now back on upward track, I contemplated which mining stock to lose money on and, with some reluctance, rejected POG (Hambro) as a really good gold play and have plumped for ANTO in preference to KAZ

Posted chart post share consolidation.Trading bottom of range.Buy recommendations today with target price 470p.Strong demand for copper isn't going away.Growth India and China.Every new home needs copper.

Watch for breakout when it comes above 400p.Several attempt today.

Mining sector up in early morning trade.ANTO
threatening breakout above 400p.

You may be looking at graph in opening post with horror.Don't big drop all down to share consolidation! Reason one month graph posted at 21.

No better time to get in than the present,all the better at 400p or less.Breakout is imminent and currently trading 400p-402p.

Demand for copper worldwide is not going away making anto good growth share and pays a dividend.

Miners back in vogue.Timely post and chart at 21.Breakout above 400p happened today! Roll on 420p-430p.......................broker target price 470p.

The Questor column - Edited by Dominic White - (Filed: 30/08/2006)

Chilean miner shows sparkling results as it basks in reflected glory of copper price


At first glance, the investment case for Chilean copper miner Antofagasta makes for compelling reading.

The single biggest catalyst for the company's soaraway share price is the red-hot global market for copper.

Citigroup calculates that 80pc of sales made by 'Fags' are directly linked to the price of copper, which has risen exponentially on the back of insatiable Chinese demand and supply constraints.

Copper prices have remained strong throughout 2006, starting at around $2 per pound in January and peaking at just under $4 in mid-May.

Fags is confident that the price of copper is well supported. It points to increased demand for commodities as an investment alternative by institutional investors. It also notes that inventories of the metal represent less than two weeks' worth of world consumption.

Meanwhile, industrial disruption at Chile's largest copper mine, the Escondida facility run by BHP Billiton, has added further weight to the investment case.

High copper prices translate into bumper free cash-flows, which in turn lead to higher dividends. The surprise interim special payout could herald more to come if the price of the metal remains where it is. Merrill Lynch expects another special divi to follow at the end of the year.

However, Fags' sparkling interim results only beat analysts' expectations because the number-crunchers underestimated the benefits of its policy of "provisional pricing" - whereby sales from a certain metal can be inflated during periods of rising spot prices.

When the price of copper levels off, the benefit Antofagasta enjoys from selling on the futures market will cease; should the copper price start falling, the effect will turn negative.

While fundamentally well supported, there is always the potential for a drop in the copper price, which has already come off 15pc since its May high. Similarly, the Escondida strike will not last for ever.

However, with the chance of more special payouts, the shares are worth holding on to.

despite Citicorp now switching its focus to KAZ, it maintains its price target of 600 for ANTO, which i happen to hold already ...... ANTO is undeniably a quality company with consistent strong performance.

Chart show steadil;y rising 50 and 200 dma and an undemanding rsi

decided to bank my fairly modest profit this afternoon on the basis that i see no harm in taking some money off the table and there was a also a downgrade the other day ...... i still think this is a really good company with much going for it, so will keep on my watch list with a view to buying if/when sp falls tp rising 25 dma

ANTO is still a sell at 495p despite at its current bottom 'cos it is going down even further.

Like the logic lol.

SELL ANTO at 368p.

Gone short myself hlyeo after reading this report...

Copper Falls for Second Day on Concern About U.S. Recession
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By Claudia Carpenter

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Copper and nickel slid for a second day in London as reports showed the U.S. recession may be deepening, curbing demand for industrial metals further.

Copper has dropped more than 60 percent since the beginning of July as a worsening housing market in the U.S. crimped demand for the metal used in pipes and wiring. U.S. crude oil inventories jumped more than expected to the highest since May, and companies pared 693,000 jobs in December, also exceeding economists forecasts, reports showed yesterday.

Fairly poor data for U.S. employment and the latest U.S. inventory data reaffirm weakness in the economy, said Dan Smith, an analyst at Standard Chartered Plc in London.

Copper for delivery in three months fell $90, or 2.7 percent, to $3,250 a metric ton as of 1:54 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. It declined 1.5 percent yesterday and was a record $8,940 on July 2. The Comex March-delivery copper contract fell 2.1 percent to $1.4795 a pound.

LS-Nikko Copper Inc., operator of the worlds third-largest copper refiner and smelter, plans to cut this years output by 10 percent on falling demand.

Nickel, which is used in stainless steel, declined $650, or 5.3 percent, to $11,650 a ton. Nippon Yakin Kogyo Co., a Japanese stainless steel producer, said it will suspend production at its plant in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, for three days a month as it cuts output by 60 percent from first-half levels.

Nickel jumped as much as 13 percent this year and copper climbed to a one-month high on speculation government spending programs will revive economies, spurring consumption of homes, cars and other items that contain industrial metals.

Opportunity to Sell

Buying by index funds that helped support nickel prices as they rebalance their holdings provided an opportunity for other investors to sell inventory, Smith said. Nickel may drop to less than $10,000 a ton in the next few weeks, he said.

The UBS Bloomberg CMCI Index of 26 commodities dropped 4.2 percent yesterday, the first drop this year. It was down another 1.1 percent today.

Improvement in sentiment disappeared fairly quickly, Smith said.

The number of Americans getting unemployment benefit rose to 4.6 million last week, the most since 1982, the Labor Department said in Washington today. First-time filers fell by 24,000 to 467,000. Jobless claims were projected to rise to 545,000, economists said in a Bloomberg News survey.

Tin fell $250 to $11,350 a ton, zinc dropped $27 to $1,263 a ton and aluminum declined $39 to $1,555 a ton. Lead increased $11 to $1,151 a ton.

To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net or ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

Looks a little concerning with world demand falling away.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601012&sid=a0icitJ82Ri4&refer=commodities

Two broker reports out yesterday with sell ratings...

Antofagasta PLC

FORECASTS

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

SG Securities
07-01-09 SELL 65.50 34.51 35.90 19.91

Exane BNP Paribas
07-01-09 SELL 1,363.72 63.35 22.86 370.98 19.59 8.49

Societe Generale downgrades the
stock to "sell" from "hold" on worries that hopes for a recovery in the copper
market may be overplayed.
The company has seen substantial cost hikes while the price of copper has
dropped 66 percent this year, leading to a "significant deterioration" in profit
margins, SocGen says in a research note.
The broker now expects EBITDA to fall to $229 million in the fourth quarter
from $492 million in the third, and revises its 12-month price target for
Antofagasta to 350 pence from 420 pence.
Reuters Messaging rm://john.coppock.reuters.com@reuters.net

Ex-divi date 16th sept '09 (2.07p)

It's time to sell the copper miners now. ANTO 771p now.

h98
you have been very quiet lately,i hope you are well.
personally i would never bet against you when you are on the short side..halloween?
glad i dont hold these.
regards
jkd

Hi jkd,
I am just back from a long holiday. Certainly nice 2 hear from u.
Best regards,
h98