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Strategies & Market Trends : Winter in the Great White North -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bruce Robbins who wrote (4754)	6/22/2003 8:06:26 PM
From: E. Charters	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8273

MONTO MINERALS (15 SEPTEMBER 2000) The Company announces a further increase in ilmenite and titano-magnetite resources with increases in grade for both minerals. The Measured and Indicated Resources were contained in 78.6 million (previously 82 million) tonnes of mineralised eluvium and represents an increase of 200,000 tonnes of ilmenite complemented with a grade increase from 4.5% to 5%. Titano-magnetite resources has increased by 139,000 tonnes with a grade increase from 2.5% to 2.8%. Ilmenite markets continue to increase with June 2000 quotations for Australian bulk concentrates (minimum 54% TiO(2)) in the A$140 to A$165 range and spot prices in the A$160 to A$180 range. Considering the current trend Goondicum Ilmenite at 49% to 50% TiO(2) is expected to achieve a sale price of at least A$120 per tonne. ************* These are the Aussie figures for a couple of years back. So there are spot prices for ilmenite after all, and the price is not as bad as I thought. Hellish hard to get prices as many producers do not give them. So one could get perhaps 100 to 150 CDN per ton for 50% or thereabouts ilmenite concetrate, and perhaps 500 dollars per ton or more for rutile/synthetic rutiel cons or "titanium slag" concentrate suitable for chlorination into pigment products. The Nova Scotian project, NAR resources who is trying or was trying to develop a riverbed ilmenite/rutile sand on tidewater, was quoting worldwide shortfalls of ilmenite slag and rutile and saying there were east coast pigment makers to sell to direct. They also said that Richard's Bay is on its last legs in South Africa and sulfate ilmenite processes are all winking out becaue of envi problems. Also Rio's projects and other's projects to develop mines and processing facilities in this huge market of 10 billion per year, do not point to a real glut. In fact pigement markets are growing by 3 to 5 % per year, while supplies are falling. I think Rio's market statements and perhaps some (paid) analysts could be directed a-la Debeers, into scaring money away from potential producers so that they can retain larger market share. Rio has been hurting in that they are increasingly competed with by CIS, Chinese and Australian sources. EC<:-}