by Malcolm Stacey – ShareProphets
Hello, Share Sweetners. I rarely bring a developing miner to your further scrutiny. I prefer to leave all that to my mining expert colleague Gary. Also, I’ve been burned quite a lot by disappointing mineral and metal finds in the past. But any road up, let’s have a look at this one.
Coal miner Prairie Mining (PDZ) seems to have a good chance of success in the next few years. Based in Perth, it focuses on Poland. The firm claims it could eventually have one of the most advanced coking operations ‘in the Northern Hemisphere.’
Coke is used heavily by the steel industry. And we all know, from plant closures in the UK, that steel-making is currently not the most profitable undertaking in the world. There’s too much competition, including interest from our friends in China.
But manufacturing, construction and heavy engineering all need steel, as does the car industry. So coke, which heats up the raw material, is always going to be in demand. Can you imagine, for example, how much steel will be needed for that new HS2 rail link?
Prairie has a coal project called Debiensko, which in January will start producing a slightly lower grade coking coal than that of its other site, Jan Karski. The Karski mine is set to start producing next year also.
Both locations are at the centre of industrial Europe and have excellent access to infrastructure. The reserves at both mines have been estimated at $3.3 billion. Which is big compared to the company’s present valuation. Though one should be aware that such estimates, especially in the mining game, can go wrong.
Prairie shares are now just over 30p. In March they were over 40p. This is not one of those mining shares which aims to serve a market which may not be all that big. Coke is vital for manufacturing. There are signs that the developing world, especially, is going to be making and building many more machines, buildings and heavy plant.
But, as with all miners, there just may be hidden snags along the way. And you should be aware of those risks.
As we all are in the Punter’s Return.
Link here to the article on the ShareProphets website