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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Thu May 19 2011 - 07:58:00 EDT
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/nevsun-declares-first-semi-annual-dividend-2011-05-18
Nevsun announces dividend, mum on potential deals
By: Liezel Hill
18th May 2011
Updated 1 hour 17 minutes ago
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) Vancouver-based Nevsun Resources has approved a
semi-annual cash dividend of $0,03 a share, the company announced on
Wednesday.
Nevsun shares rose on the news and were up 12,74%, at C$5,84 apiece, by
13:06 in Toronto.
The dividend will be payable on July 15, to shareholders of record at the
start of business on June 30.
Nevsun achieved commercial production at its new Bisha mine in Eritrea in
February this year. The company is producing more than 1 000 oz gold a day
and first-quarter cash costs were around $300/oz, including royalties, the
company said last week.
"The successful start-up of the high grade, low-cost Bisha mine is the start
of significant cash flow for the company, CEO *Cliff Davis* said in a
statement on Wednesday.
"With $103-million cash at quarter-end and significant ongoing cash flow,
Nevsun is well positioned to fund this growth and provide a dividend return
to our shareholders."
Bisha, which is the first modern gold mine in Eritrea, was completed on
schedule and actually ahead of budget. The first gold pour took place in
January this year.
Although it has started off as a gold and silver producer, Nevsun will start
producing copper from the mine in 2013, followed by zinc output a few years
later.
With its low cost mine now up and running, it is possible that the company
could attract interest as a takeover candidate, but Davis said in an
interview he is not soliciting offers or looking for buyers.
I guess the reality is that it potentially could [become a target], but we
are not looking for that at all, he told *Mining Weekly Online*.
We're looking to grow the company.
*EXPENSIVE OUT THERE*
The planned growth will come partly through exploration and development at
Bisha itself, but Davis has also indicated that he is looking for potential
acquisitions to add more base-metals assets to the company.
He was reluctant to provide any more details or speculate on the likelihood
of a transaction in the coming months though.
In this market particularly, M&A is very difficult, it's very expensive out
there, so we have to be very cautious.
Nevsun announced a 40% increase in the reserves at Bisha in March this year,
and has said itself a target of doubling reserves overall in 2011.
Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter
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