By Brian Truscott
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
VANCOUVER (Dow Jones)
"The ideal acquisition would be a moly producer in North America that would generate revenue (sometime) in the next couple of years," he said. "That universe is kind of small so we would expand in every way possible, looking at jurisdictions outside of the U.S., such as South America and Australia."
A shortlist of potential targets include: Creston Moly Corp. (CMS.V), General Moly Inc. (GMO.T), TTM Resources Inc. (TTQ.V) and Moly Mines Ltd. (MOL.AU) in Australia.
Creston Moly looks to be the best bet because it's likely heading towards a feasibility study after a 2010 drilling program. The others are sitting on permitting headaches or low-grade deposits, one industry executive said.
Loughrey said Thompson Creek's treasury stands at $480 million with a $35 million undrawn line of credit and ongoing cash flow. Debt stands at $14 million.
"We haven't found the perfect acquisition but we're still looking," he said, conceding that finding the ideal acquisition is often a difficult task.
That means Thompson Creek might look futher afield.
"We would look for metals beyond moly if there is an opportunity to do a project that is economic and accretive - copper would make sense," he said.
Copper does make sense because moly is often the byproduct gleaned from copper mines. In fact, the moly sector is now almost evenly divided between pure moly producers and copper/moly miners, Loughrey said.
While 2009 hasn't been a stellar one for moly producers, thanks to a precipitous fall in prices for the steel-hardening agent, Loughrey is confident the market will rebound as global economies improve.
The company reported third-quarter results earlier Friday, showing an 80% dip in profit because of those falling prices.
Despite a troubling year, the company plans to operate the mill at its flagship Thompson Creek mine in Idaho at full capacity in 2010 and 2011, thanks to an improved outlook for molybdenum market fundamentals, Loughrey said.
The company had cut production at the mill in February 2009 due to plunging moly prices.
In Toronto, Thompson Creek is up C$1.00, or 8.5%, to C$12.73 on 2.23 million shares traded. In New York, the stock is up 84 cents to $11.85.
Company Web Site: http://www.thompsoncreekmetals.com
-Brian Truscott, Dow Jones Newswires; 604-669-1595; brian.truscott@dowjones.com
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