Peru Stocks: Buenaventura, Minsur, Rio Alto, Southern Copper

 

 Lima Stock Exchange

The following companies had unusual price changes in Peru trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are as of 4:10 p.m. in Lima.

The Lima General Index (IGBVL) rose for the seventh session in eight, gaining 0.6 percent to 21,410.67. The MSCI All Peru Capped Index (MXPECAPD) climbed 1.8 percent to 2,754.42.

Copper, gold and tin miners surged after U.S. stocks and metals gained, said Eduardo Fernandini, a trader at Lima-based Kallpa Securities SAB.

Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SAA (BVN PE), the country’s biggest precious-metals miner, jumped 7.1 percent to $41.11. Minera IRL Ltd. (MIRL) , a U.K. minerals explorer with a gold mine in Peru, rose 4.7 percent to $1.12. Rio Alto Mining Ltd. (RIO) , a gold producer, gained 3.8 percent to $3.79. Southern Copper Corp. (PCU\C) (SCCO PE), the country’s biggest producer of the metal, advanced 2.8 percent to $36.20. Minsur SA (MINSURI1) (MINSURI1 PE), the world’s fourth-largest tin producer, rose for a third day, adding 2.1 percent to 2.85 soles.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Emery in Lima at aemery1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net

Peru's November GDP expanded 4.95%

Peru's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.95% in November 2011, compared with the same month a year earlier, the government said.

The National Institute for Statistics and Information, or INEI, said Monday that Peru's economy has now expanded for 27 straight months.

In a statement the agency pointed to strong domestic demand as the reason for November's economic expansion.

The country's economy grew 6.5% in the first eleven months of 2011; while in the December 2010 to November 2011 period, GDP expanded by 7.13%, the agency added.

In November, the agriculture sector rose by 2.65%, while fishing sector activity expanded by 1.29% over the same month a year earlier.

Transportation and communications sector activity rose by 9.29%, while retail sector activity increased by 7.02% year on year.

The electricity and water sector expanded by 6.89% in November, while mining and hydrocarbons declined by 1.02%.

Meanwhile, growth in the construction sector, one of the drivers of Peru's economic growth, continued to ease in November, with the sector expanding by 3.23%, INEI said. (Andina)

Joran Van Der Sloot Is Sentenced to 28 Years for Murder of Peruvian Woman

Joran van der Sloot, the Dutchman who pleaded guilty to killing 21-year-old Peruvian student Stephany Flores, was sentenced in Lima to 28 years in prison.

The court today sentenced Van der Sloot, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 11 to strangling Flores with both hands in a hotel room after he met her in a Lima casino in May 2010, according to the televised hearing today. Prosecutors had requested a 30-year prison sentence. The court also ordered Van der Sloot to pay the Flores family damages of 200,000 soles ($74,239).

Van der Sloot, 24, was extradited from Chile where he was arrested after he fled Peru. He has said he killed Flores after she saw material on his laptop about the unsolved disappearance of Natalee Holloway, prosecutors said.

Holloway, an American teenager, disappeared in May 2005 just before she was to fly home to Alabama from a vacation on the Caribbean island of Aruba. She was last seen with Van der Sloot and two other men, authorities said.

Van der Sloot said in a 2008 video he disposed of the body of Holloway on Aruba. He later denied he had anything to do with the disappearance of the 18-year-old. Dutch prosecutors dropped a case against him.

The Dutchman has been charged in the U.S. with wire fraud and extortion for allegedly soliciting money in 2010 on promises he would reveal the location of Holloway’s remains in Aruba and circumstances of her death.

Following today’s hearing, Van der Sloot told the court he reserved the right to appeal the ruling.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jurjen van de Pol in Amsterdam at jvandepol@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net.

Duran Ventures announces positive results at Aguila project

Canadian exploration company Duran Ventures announced positive results of copper and molybdenum mineralization at Aguila project, located in the department of Ancash, after completing the preliminary work of metallurgical testing in its property.

Said company stated that G&T Metallurgical Services Ltd. completed the preliminary program of laboratory flotation testing on Aguila drill core composite samples.

The locked cycle flotation test on the intrusive composite indicated that 93 percent of the copper and 91% of the molybdenum in the feed was recovered into a final copper concentrate containing 28 percent copper.

This concentrate also contained 1.5 percent molybdenum, and 82 g/tonne silver, according to report entitled "Preliminary assessment of the two composite samples from the Aguila deposit KM3161" dated December 21, 2011 and prepared by G&T Metallurgical Services Ltd.

"The initial metallurgical work has been successful. Mineralogy and locked cycle flotation test results indicate that the copper and molybdenum essentially occur as primary sulphides that can be readily recovered to a commercial concentrate by standard flotation techniques," as quoted in such report.

The metallurgical test program included batch rougher and open circuit cleaner flotation tests on each composite, as well as locked cycle flotation tests.

Likewise, the locked cycle flotation test on the sedimentary composite indicated that 83 percent of the copper and 82% of the molybdenum in the feed was recovered into a final copper concentrate containing 24 percent copper.

This concentrate also contained 1.7 percent molybdenum, and 110 g/tonne silver.

Further metallurgical work is recommended by G&T and will follow in accord with the development of the project.

"The high recoveries and the lack of any deleterious elements indicate that the process flow sheet should be conventional and straightforward," consulting firm G&T reported.

The Aguila project is located in the department of Ancash, as well as the Antamina copper and zinc deposits, from Antamina mining company, and gold mine Pierina of Barrick Gold.

Duran Ventures is a Canadian exploration company focused on the exploration and development of porphyry copper, precious metal, and polymetallic deposits in Peru.

The company's principal project is the Aguila Copper-Molybdenum Porphyry Project with related silver-lead-zinc mineralization. (Andina)