CEY is a gold mining company operating in Egypt. It was ordered by the Egyptian Government to stop drilling pending a legal dispute brought against the company by a government minister.

Since then, the whole Government cabinet was replaced a few months ago and the minister now in charge of Mining is believed to be positive on Western investment in the country. CEY are pushing for this minister to allow them to continue drilling ASAP; investers are waiting....patiently.

As soon as the company gets the go-ahead to continue drilling, the share price will move north; CEY has plenty of gold in this mine and it is (apparantly) the case of "raking" it out rather than drilling for it!

Check them out...worthy of a punt.

OMI up as well...(for minnow lovers)....

Pike loves minnows
Stupid boy :-)

CEY could be targeted by insurgents unless the army keep a presents there

Yes... uncle arfur....

Stupid boy

Market Update

Market Update - Centamin Gains Controlling Interest in Ampella Mining

Further to the announcements of 10 December 2013 and 13 January 2014, Centamin declared, on 20 February 2014, that its off-market takeover offer for Ampella was free from all defeating conditions pursuant to a notice filed on the Australian Stock Exchange ("ASX") and ASIC. Accordingly, the offer is now unconditional.

As at 7.00pm (Sydney time) on 24 February 2014, Centamin, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Centamin West Africa Holdings Limited ("CWA"), had a relevant interest in 126,321,285 shares or 51.14% in Ampella Mining Limited ("Ampella").

This gives Centamin the right under the offer to appoint a majority of the directors to the board of Ampella and to take effective control of all operational matters concerning Ampella. Centamin has requested that Paul Kitto, Ron Renton and Michael Anderson resign from the board of Ampella and has nominated Josef El-Raghy, Mark Arnesen and Heidi Brown to be appointed as directors of Ampella. Peter Mansell and Ronnie Beevor shall continue as non-executive directors of Ampella until the earlier of Ampella de-listing from the ASX or CWA acquiring a relevant interest in 90% of the shares in Ampella.

Josef El-Raghy, Chairman of Centamin, commented:

"We are pleased to have successfully gained control of Ampella and thank the outgoing directors for their support during this recommended offer process. We also recognise the key contribution that Dr Paul Kitto has made to establishing a significant new gold province in Burkina Faso and we welcome his future involvement with our management group so that we may continued to discover and develop gold projects in this area and the wider region."

Peel Hunt note:
"We downgrade Centamin to a Hold following a strong share price performance in recent months. Our target price for Centamin is based on our application of a 40% risking factor to adjust for the risk associated with the on-going court case. Whilst we remain of the view that the ultimate outcome of the court case will be positive for Centamin, we have not seen any material changes in the risk profile of the case that would justify a reduction in our current risk weighting. Indeed investors can choose their own risk factor for Centamin which we value at 87p on an un-risked basis
Positive ruling still likely in court case: Our original Buy recommendation for Centamin was based on our view that the ultimate outcome of the current court case regarding a legal challenge to Centamin’s operating license will reach a positive conclusion in 2014. We applied a risked NPV approach to the business with a risking factor of 40%. Whilst we remain of the view that this is the most likely outcome, we do not yet see sufficient evidence to adjust our risking factor and therefore reduce our recommendation to a hold after the recent rise in share price.
Proposed legislative amendments will provide further support: Proposed legislation currently being tabled in Egypt contains provisions to prevent third parties from challenging contracts made between the government and an investor, this proposal is intended to boost investor confidence in the country at a time when it is desperately needed. If such legislation were in force at the time of the original challenge by Mr Fakharany it would have prevented his efforts to remove Centamin’s operating license. We regard this proposal as an indication of the direction of political opinion on issues such as the Centamin case and a reinforcement of our view that the ultimate outcome of the court case is likely to be positive.
Valuation & Recommendation: Our un-risked valuation of Centamin on a PV of future cash flows basis is 87p with a 40% risking factor to arrive at our current target price. The selection of this risking factor depends largely on investor risk appetite and can be adjusted by investors at their own discretion. We would look to review this risking factor downwards in the event of a positive outcome in the court case. Until such time we are of the view that a 40% risk weighting is appropriate to reflect the uncertainties of predicting the decisions of the Egyptian legal system and move to a Hold recommendation."

From yesterday - Nomura Buy 58.68 45.00 85.00 Upgrades

2013 Annual Results

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE YEAR (1) (2)

Centamin remains in a robust position to continue delivering on its track record of production growth and solid cash flow generation during 2014 and beyond, as demonstrated by the following highlights:

· Full year production was 356,943, a 36% increase on 2012 and above guidance of 320,000 ounces.

· Cash costs of production of US$663 per ounce (2012: $669 per ounce).

· Record EBITDA of US$234.2 million, up 1% on the prior year.

· Basic earnings per share 16.87 cents, down 8% on prior year.

· Stage 4 plant expansion (to nameplate capacity of 10Mtpa) expenditure at the year end was US$327.8 million of the reforecast cost of US$331.2 million, including contingency.

· Centamin remains debt-free and un-hedged with cash, bullion on hand, gold sales receivable and available-for-sale financial assets of US$142.5 million as at 31 December 2013.

Looks like good results.

just for general info, my client in egypt tells me things remain very unsettled there, which is having a generally negative effect on all business as all companies are fearful of making any medium/long term decisions

It needs to break 58p.

Q1 Preliminary Production Results

Centamin is pleased to announce preliminary production results from its Sukari Gold Mine ("Sukari") in Egypt for the quarter ended 31 March 2014. Total gold production for the quarter was 74,241 ounces, a 14% decrease on the corresponding quarter in 2013 and 19% lower than Q4 2013. Although gold production was affected by a temporary reduction in the underground average grade, the first quarter demonstrated record levels of material movement from the underground mine and process plant throughput and all areas of the operation have provided a solid foundation for the year ahead. Production guidance for 2014 remains unchanged at 420,000 ounces gold.

Open pit total material movement continued well from the previous quarter with a small increase of 1% to 9,749kt. A decrease in open pit ore production of 26% on Q4 2013 to 2,325kt reflected a focus on waste stripping activities in line with the mine plan. The run of mine ore stockpile balance decreased by 216kt to 1,540kt at the end of the period.

Record quarterly throughput at the process plant was 1,486kt, a 6% increase on the prior year period and a 6% increase on Q4 2013, exceeding the nameplate annualised rate of 5 million tonnes for the fifth successive quarter with continued high levels of productivity and availability. The Stage 4 commissioning process will progressively lift overall plant throughput and hence gold production levels through the remainder of the year.

The primary challenge faced during the quarter was from poor mining fleet availability within the high grade stoping areas of the underground mine. Whilst the operation delivered a record 206kt of ore, up 18% on Q4 2013, this limited ability to remotely mine the high-grade stopes reduced the average mined grade to below planned levels and thus restricted the contribution to overall production. These problems with equipment availability were rectified late in the quarter.

Market Update


Market Update - Concession Agreement Court Case - New Investment Law

Centamin notes that a new law, numbered 32 of 2014, came into effect in Egypt yesterday. The Company understands, based on legal advice, that the new law will restrict the capacity for third parties to challenge any contractual agreement between the Egyptian government and an investor. Furthermore, the new law appears to cover all currently pending lawsuits and challenges.

Centamin continues to discuss with its advisers the process by which the original claim in relation to the Sukari Concession Agreement, which was brought by a third party and is subject to an ongoing court appeal, may be dismissed under the provisions of this new law.

Market seems to like that. CEY don't seem over confident though that it applies to them. Just hope it doesn't turn out that there is a lot of small print!

Well this lot aren't so sure :-

Westhouse Securities Neutral 58.15 55.95 55.00 55.00 Reiterates

Peel Hunt note:
New Egyptian legislation – New legislation enacted in Egypt on 23 April prohibits the rights of third parties to challenge contracts between the Egyptian Government and investors. This is positive for Centamin in terms of its current ongoing legal dispute regarding the Sukari operating licence. The law, which was released in draft form in February, was previously thought not to apply to currently pending cases, and now appears to include all current challenges before the courts.
Implications for current court case – The current court case is adjourned until 7 October; our previous assessment was that the legal dispute was unlikely to be resolved in 2014. While investors would be wise to be cautious in their expectations of the Egyptian legal system, particularly with regard to timing, the new legislation now in force provides Centamin with an opportunity to bring court applications filing for dismissal of the case, and provides a very strong argument that the challenge is without substance. Our opinion is that Centamin’s chance of success in the court case is now very likely indeed."

I'll continue being a (hopeful) long term holder then!

We form part of an small but elite band of speculators who seem have no chioce but to hold if we want to get back into profit! Some kind of political stability in Egypt would help our cause somewhat, imo, but the Muslim Brotherhood don't seem aware of our plight!!! ;o)...or maybe they are aware and just don't give a t*ss!

RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 31 MARCH 2014

Centamin plc ("Centamin" or "the Company") (LSE: CEY, TSX: CEE) is pleased to announce its results for the three months ended 31 March 2014.

HIGHLIGHTS (1) (2) (3) (4)

Production

· Gold production 74,241 ounces, 19% lower quarter-on-quarter and 15% lower on the prior year period.
· Production guidance for 2014 remains unchanged at 420,000 ounces at a cash cost of production of US$700 per ounce.
· Cash cost of production of US$744 per ounce.
· Commissioning of the Stage 4 plant expansion to 10 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) continues with first ore fed through the new circuit.

Financials

· Basic earnings per share 1.87 cents, down 33% on Q4 2013 and down 72% on the prior year period and EBITDA US$34.3 million; 25% on Q4 2013 and 58% on the prior year period.
· Centamin remains debt-free and un-hedged with cash, bullion on hand, gold sales receivables and available-for-sale financial assets of US$137.8 million as at 31 March 2014.

Exploration

· Exploration drilling commenced in Burkina Faso and Cote D'Ivoire following the takeover of ASX-listed Ampella Mining Ltd.
· Exploration results at Sukari and in Ethiopia continue to justify further drilling.

Legal developments in Egypt

· The Supreme Administrative Court appeal and Diesel Fuel Court Case are both ongoing. Operations continue as normal and any enforcement of the Administrative Court decision has been suspended pending the appeal ruling.
· New investment law (32 of 2014) came into force in April 2014 restricting the capacity for third parties to challenge any contractual agreement between the Egyptian government and an investor. Centamin understands, based on legal advice, that it is likely to benefit from this new law.