CBH Backs Toho Bid

Independent Directors Unanimously Back Bid

Independent directors at Australia’s CBH Resources' have unanimously backed Japan's Toho Zinc's friendly takeover offer for the zinc, lead and silver miner

CBH said in a statement Toho was offering 24 cents a share cash and $1000 cash per CBH convertible note. The offer, which already owns 24.1 per cent of CBH, was above an independent expert's valuation range of 18.7-23.2 cents a share.

It said the offer was subject to 90 per cent shareholder approval.

"This offer from CBH's major shareholder, Toho, is very attractive for CBH shareholders, particularly when compared to previous proposals received recently by the company," Managing Director Stephen Dennis said.

Toho said the offer valued CBH's ordinary equity at $262.7 million.

CBH has also been the target of Belgian’s Nyrstar, which has offered 19.5 cents a share and $1000 for each convertible note.

Nyrstar Makes Fresh Offer For CBH Resources

New Offer At 19.5c a share

Belgium’s Nyrstar, the world’s largest zinc miner, has made an offer of 19.5c a share for Australian zinc miner, CBH Resources. Nyrstar has also offered $1000 per CBH convertible loan note.

CBH had previously recommended a joint venture deal and bid for part of the company from its largest shareholder Japan's Toho Zinc.

The Nyrstar proposal is subject to limited due diligence, which has now commenced, and on shareholders not approving the Toho deal at a meeting on April 28.

Last month CBH recommended shareholders accept a proposal to sell stock and bonds to Toho over a previous Nyrstar bid worth A$213 million.

CBH shares ended the day at 18.5c.

Nyrstar Raises Stake In Ironbark Zinc

Belgian Miner Ups Ironbark Stake To 30.9 per cent

Australian zinc miner, Ironbark Zinc announced on Wednesday that it will issue the world’s largest zinc miner, Belgium’s Nyrstar International BV, with 42,857,143 shares at 35 cents each to raise $15,000,000. The issue will take Nyrstar’s stake in Ironbark to 30.9 per cent.

The issue will fund development at Ironbark’s Citronen base metal deposit in Northern Greenland. Citronen is one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc projects, with in excess of 10 billion pounds in zinc and lead.

A Definitive Feasibility Study will be undertaken later this year and Ironbark says the funding is sufficient to take it to the major project financing stage. Commercial production is expected within three to five years.

CBH Recommends Toho Bid

Australian zinc and lead miner CBH Resources is recommending a revised joint venture deal and bid for part of the company from its largest shareholder Toho Zinc Japan.

The move follows a suspension of the company’s shares after Toho unveiled a rival offer to a $290 million bid from Belgium’s Nyrstar.

CBH said it preferred the Toho proposal as Nyrstar's bid was conditional on acquiring all CBH's convertible notes and was also superior in terms of de-leveraging the company. Toho had earlier advised CBH that it would not support the Nyrstar bid as CBH’s major shareholder with a 23 per cent stake. It also holds just over 50 per cent of outstanding loan notes.

The Toho deal also includes a sale of 50 per cent of the Rasp zinc project at Broken Hill for $57.5m, to a joint venture between the two parties for the ownership and development of the mine.

Toho will make a partial takeover offer for up to 49.9 per cent in CBH at 25 cents a share valuing Toho’s offer for the shares it does not already own at $76 million. The offer compares with Nyrstar's revised offer of 19.5c for the whole of the company.

"Toho's revised proposal will provide CBH shareholders with the best of both worlds," CBH managing director Stephen Dennis.

"Shareholders will be able to receive significant near term gains on a portion of their CBH shares, and they will also have the opportunity to participate in the future growth of the company through the development of the Rasp project and the planned increase in production at the Endeavor Mine.

"The de-levering of the company, along with Toho's undertaking to support CBH in financing the Rasp Project, will also ensure that this important new mine is brought quickly into production."

CBH Resources Receives Alternative To Nyrstar Bid

Australian lead and zinc miner CBH Resources halted trades in its shares on Tuesday after receiving an alternative to the takeover offer on the table from Belgium's Nyrstar.

The offer is believed to have come from CBH's largest shareholder, the Japanese company, Toho Zinc, in which Toho will take a maximum 49.9 per cent stake in CBH.

The company has set up a committee of independent directors to weigh up the merits of both the Nyrstar and Toho proposals.

The company expects to make an announcement before the Australian Stock Exchange opens on Thursday.

Nyrstar has offered $0.195 per CBH share and $750 per convertible note in a bid that values all shares and convertible notes at about $290 million. CBH rebuffes a previous Nyrstar bid at the beginning of the year.

Nyrstar Wants Answers On CBH Bid

Australian miner, CBH Resources, is to decide shortly on whether an EGM called for 30 March to discuss a takeover from shareholder Toho Zinc, will go ahead after all.

Last week CBH received a bid from Belgian zinc miner, Nyrstar, who have now written to the company saying that it needs to know if the EGM is still to go ahead. CBH said that a preliminary response will be made between now and next Monday, when Nyrstar wants a response to its bid.
Nyrstar’s bid of A19.5c per share compares with an earlier Nyrstar bid of A13.5c per share.

Nyrstar Ups Bid For CBH

Australian zinc miner CBH Resources said on Friday that it has received another takeover offer.

Belgian group Nyrstar - the world's largest zinc miner - recently failed to acquire CBH in a A$220 million ($135.5 million) bid but has returned with a bid worth A$290 million. CBH turned down Nyrstar's original offer in January and instead sold its Rasp Zinc project to Toho Zinc its largest shareholder, to raise cash.

CBH is reactivating equipment, idled in 2008 when zinc prices crashed, that will allow it to more than double ore production to 850,000 tonnes at its main Endeavor mine, yielding about 59,000 tonnes of zinc metal and 30,000 tonnes of lead.

Shares in CBH jumped around 29% to 0.18 dollars. CBH said it believes the deal would provide superior value to shareholders than the alternative transaction proposed by Toho Zinc.

Nystar Aiming To Increase Mining Share

Nyrstar, the world's biggest zinc producer, aims to increase production from its own mines to about 30 percent over the next year from its current share of 21 percent, its chief executive said on Friday.




The Belgian company recently expanded into higher-margin mining activities and has bought mines or stakes in mines in the USA, Greenland and Peru. Nyrstar also signed a long-term contract to buy zinc concentrate from Finland’s Talvivaara.

"The profitability of mines is much higher than for smelters," Chief Executive Roland Junck told reporters at a briefing on Friday. He said the company aimed for 50 per cent own-mine production over the next five years, although that would depend on available opportunities.

Mr Junck said that although Nyrstar had been in talks to buy Anglo American's zinc business, it was unlikely to do so on the grounds of cost, nor would it expand its mining business to China as there are places closer to its smelters..

"The best way to take advantage of China is to take advantage of the price of zinc, which is fuelled by Chinese demand," Mr Junck said.

"I like the idea of clusters ... Ideally I would like to have some more mines in Peru," he said.

Mr Junck said that ee expected the zinc price to remain stable for now.

Nyrstar Swoops For East Tennessee Zinc

East Tennessee Zinc Co., which operated zinc mines in East Knox and Jefferson Counties and employed about 400 workers before being shut down late last year, is being sold to Belgian mining company Nyrstar NV for $126 million.

East Tennessee Zinc was sold by Swiss raw materials conglomerate Glencore Group, which reopened the Young mine in New Market, the Coy mine in Strawberry Plains, and the Immel mine in Mascot in 2006. Glencore disclosed the sales agreement last week.

Nyrstar already owns a smelting operation in Clarksville, Tenn., and another zinc mine complex in Gordonsville, Tenn. Nystar said the Clarksville smelter was originally built to treat the high-grade zinc concentrate from the Knox-Jefferson and Gordonsville mines.

“Consistent with our strategy, the acquisition provides an opportunity to capture a number of significant synergies in relation to cost reductions and operational benefits between our Clarksville smelter and the East Tennessee and Gordonsville zinc mine complexes, thereby supporting a long-term sustainable future for these operations,” Nyrstar CEO Roland Junck said in a statement.

Junck said Nyrstar, which acquired the Gordonsville mines in May, recently has restarted limited operations there and intends to restart the East Tennessee mines “as quickly as possible.”

Nyrstar said several steps remain before the deal closes, including completion of due diligence, but the transaction is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter.

Source: Knoxville News

Nyrstar's Zinc Production Falls 30 Per Cent

Belgium's Nyrstar, the world's biggest producer of zinc, said its zinc production dropped by 30 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from the final quarter of 2008 and that it planned further cost saving measures.

Nyrstar, which left the Belgian blue-chip index .BFX in March, said in a statement on Wednesday it was planning to transform its cost structure across the entire company.

This would result in more than 50 million euros ($65.08 million) in sustainable cost savings per year from 2010, it said.

Zinc output dropped to 187,200 tonnes in January-March from 255,300 in the previous quarter. Nyrstar's lead output fell 18 percent to 50,000 tonnes from the last quarter of 2008.

The group said in February it would cut zinc production by 190,000 tonnes in the first half of 2009, about 9 percent of its output in 2008, following a 35,000-tonne reduction in the fourth quarter of last year.

The severe downturn in the global economy continued into the first quarter of 2009, leading to significantly reduced demand for zinc and other commodities, the group said.

But it said production cuts helped to stabilise stock levels and zinc prices throughout the quarter.

"With our strong cash position and no debt, we are well placed to survive the downturn and position the company for growth going forward," Chief Executive Roland Junck said in a statement.

Source: Reuters