WMC gains titanium asset

The biggest deal of the report period was WMC Resources‘ US$87.5-million acquisition from South Africa’s Southern Mining of the world’s largest undeveloped titanium mineral-sands deposit: Corridor Sands, in Mozambique.

Closing up $1 over the period to US$19.20, Australian-based WMC has been on a bit of a roll since its recent “de-merger,” which saw its 40% stake in an aluminum joint venture with Alcoa spun off into a new company named Alumina Ltd., and its base metals, uranium and fertilizer assets maintained under the WMC banner.

The combined value of the two de-merged companies already exceeds that of the old WMC, and there is rampant speculation that either of the two new companies will soon become takeover targets of the major mining houses.

The rest of the base metal miners were hit by continued doubts over any recovery in the sagging global economy: Anglo American retreated 57 to US$13.56; BHP Billiton fell 13 to US$11.17; Rio Tinto gave back $4.35 to end at US$77.15; Phelps Dodge slipped 58 to US$30.63; Alcoa declined $1.76 to US$23.01; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold eased down 71 to US$14.38; and OM Group rose to 14 to US$7.88 after plummeting to US$4 last month.

The gold majors all benefited from the general doom and gloom in the markets: Newmont Mining jumped $1.81 to US$26.14; AngloGold rose $1.18 to US$29.82; Gold Fields advanced 67 to US$12.66; Durban Deep was up 23 to US$3.58; Harmony Gold gained 29 to hit US$14.71; and Ashanti rose 38 to US$5.49.