Stockpile: Centamin sit-in hurts stock price

Centamin Egypt Ltd, also listed in Australia, fell the most it had in two years on February 18 after a report of a sit-in at the Sukari mine in the country.

Egypt’s state news agency MENA reported that more than 250 workers at Sukari began the protest to demand better pay and a switch from Australian to Egyptian ownership. The workers were threatening to go on a hunger strike if demands were not met, the report added.

After weeks of fluctuations owing to the political turmoil in Egypt, Centamin's share price fell 10% on February 18 alone on the latest development. For the week the company was down 16%.

Centamin has since released a statement on the issue, reassuring the market that production hasn’t been interrupted by the protest.

Elsewhere, African Barrick Gold plc (ABG) received a boost following the release of its 2010

The company, which was spun out by Barrick Gold Corp in March last year, was one of the week’s top performers, moving 10.5% higher after it revealed profits had tripled in the past year.

ABG overcame challenges at its Buzwagi mine in Tanzania, through consistent performance at the Bulyanhulu and North Mara mines, to achieve a net income result of US$218 million.

With a target to increase production to between 700,000-760,000oz in 2011, ABG’s focus remains on growth of its existing assets. Liberum Capital described ABG as a “valuation anomaly in the gold space” following the release of these results.

“Our view is that as an established producer focused on Tanzania, ABG’s organic growth comes with lower execution risks than most of its peers,” Liberum said.

Another gold miner, Central Rand Gold Ld, was the week’s top mining stock with a 13.5% gain.

The major miners all headed downward this week, with Anglo American plc taking the biggest hit of 6.5%. Anglo American reported that it doubled profits in 2010 to US$9.8 billion on the back of soaring commodity prices.

BHP Billiton has also benefitted from booming prices and achieved a US$10.5 billion profit for the six months to end-December. This didn’t stop the company from falling close to 6%. Rio Tinto and Xstrata plc were both also down nearly 5%.

On AIM, gold miner Serabi Mining plc jumped more than 20% on news that Brazilian authorities had scrapped a US$2.2 million fine handed down for administrative breaches at the Palito mine. The company had been accused of breaking the terms of its operating licence by not submitting a Cadastro Ambiente Rural (CAR) and a monitoring programme of flora and fauna within a required time-frame.

Cyprus-based explorer EMED Mining Public Ltd rose 18% after it announced that the Rio Tinto copper mine was on schedule for a re-start this year.

Rambler Metals and Mining plc added 11% after saying it was on track to start mining at its projects. The company’s Ming copper-gold mine in Canada is due to reach production in the second half of this year.

Other companies to make significant advances included Obtala Resources plc and Ormonde Mining plc with gains of 14% and 13% respectively.

London-based Atlantic coal plc was this week’s biggest faller, losing almost 24% after announcing plans to raise £10 million (US$16 million) for use at its Pennsylvania operations. Despite this week’s drop, the company has still added 19% in 2011. The company's share price received a spike after coal supply was cut by the flooding in the Australian state of Queensland.