News

April 14, 2009

Corriente Resources Is Involved In Protracted Talks Which Should Lead To A Bid For The Company

By Charles Wyatt

Not often one gets to write about a company whose shares are higher than they were last year, but Canadian-listed Corriente Resources is just such a one. A year ago the shares were C$5.20 and they subsequently fell, despite a rally in September, down to a low of just over C$2.00. Now they are C$6.20 having gone up in an almost straight line since December. So what is the reason? Quite simply it is because the company decided at the beginning of last year that it needed a partner for its Panantza – San Carlos copper project in Ecuador and a marketing process was set in motion under the direction of a team from Citi and Canaccord-Adams. By July confidentiality agreements had been secured with interested companies and they had been guided through the electronic data room.

At that time Ecuador was essentially a no-go area for mining companies under President Correa who came to power at the end of 2006. A new Mining Law was promised so meetings were held with senior government officials in Quito so that interested parties could get a first-hand idea of the intentions of the government of Ecuador. These meetings were part of in-country due diligence visits from interested industry parties from around the world, all of whom had the capability of advancing a...