Terra Nostra Positioned for Growth; Expecting Firm Demand and Strong Copper Prices to Continue this Year
August 17 2007 - 9:03AM
PR Newswire (US)
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Terra Nostra
Resources Corporation (OTC:TNRO) (BULLETIN BOARD: TNRO) , majority
owner of two China joint venture companies in the copper and
stainless steel industries, today said that the recent price levels
for copper, seen substantially as a result of demand for the metal
out of China, help position the Company to show strong growth
within its copper production business this year. The Copper spot
price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at 65,660 Yuan
($8,658) a metric ton last Friday, near previous high levels.
China's economy expanded 11.9% in the second quarter from a year
earlier, the fastest pace in 12 years, fueling speculation that
copper supply may lag behind demand growth in China -- the world's
largest consumer of copper. In the first 4 months of 2007, world
refined copper usage is estimated to have increased by 10.5%
compared to the same period in 2006. Chinese apparent usage grew by
38% during the first 4 months of 2007 compared to the first 4
months of 2006 as net imports of refined copper rose by 270%.
China, the world's fastest growing major economy, has spurred a
five-year rally in commodity prices. Last year the country consumed
four million metric tons of copper, or about 22% of the world's
production. That represents an increase from 10% of global
consumption a decade ago, according to industry estimates. With
forecasts for (China's) consumption of copper, aluminum and other
building-block materials indicating a continuation of these levels,
mining and metal companies are putting capital into new production.
Recent figures for car output and housing construction rates
provide further support for China's continued industrial growth.
According to industry analysts, the demand for copper, as commonly
used in copper wiring for apartment buildings, copper air
conditioning parts and copper automotive components, have turned
China into the world's largest consumer of copper. Analysts also
see rising demand in parts of Europe and the Middle East. Another
part of the equation is supply, and over the last two to three
years, the increase in supply has been lower than the market was
expecting. "The fact that these price levels are occurring during
what is traditionally the slow season for copper consumption is a
good sign for us," said Mr. George Chua, Chief Operating Officer of
Terra Nostra, "particularly when combined with recent reports
speculating these increases are largely due to persistent supply
gap concerns in China. Our fourth quarter copper revenue rose 17%
compared to the same quarter last year. We believe our growth is in
part attributable to positioning our Company to benefit from the
commodity super cycle." About Terra Nostra Resources Corporation
Terra Nostra is one of the leading copper producers in China
through its 51 percent interest in Shandong Terra Nostra Jinpeng
Metallurgical Co., Ltd., which has an existing and under
construction production capacity of 170,000 MT (metric tons) of
electrolytic copper, 20,000 MT of low-oxygen copper, and
value-added copper rod and wire facilities. Terra Nostra is also
emerging as a leading stainless steel producer in China through its
51 percent interest in Shandong Quanxin Stainless Steel Co., Ltd.,
a modern stainless steel production facility with a 230,000 MT
capacity casting mill, and a recently commissioned 150,000 MT
rolling mill. The two joint venture companies, which Terra Nostra
recently entered into an agreement to increase its ownership up to
90%, with total assets exceeding US$182 million and over 1,000
employees, are located in the highly industrialized coastal
province of Shandong, midway between Beijing and Shanghai. More
information on Terra Nostra can be found at
http://www.tnr-corp.com/. Forward Looking Statements Except for the
historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in
this press release, including statements with respect to
expectations concerning (i) projects underway or under
consideration, including production capacity and completion
schedules; (ii) business and future potential of Terra Nostra
Resources Corporation ("TNR"); (iii) estimates or implications of
future earnings, profits, EBIDTA, and the sensitivity of earnings
to metals prices; (iv) estimates of future metals production, sales
and profitability; (v) estimates of future cash flows, and the
sensitivity of cash flows to the other metals and ore costs as well
as, but not limited to, fluctuations in fuel prices, scrap prices,
and the availability of both, and statements related to these
matters or which use words such as "may," "might," "should,"
"expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict,"
"potential" or "continue," and the negative of these terms and
other comparable terminology are all forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Further risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which affect the forward- looking
statements included herein, and could cause actual results to
differ materially from future results expressed, projected or
implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, completion of TNR's capital contributions to the joint
venture companies, working capital financing, metals price
volatility, competition for projects, reserve acquisition costs,
currency fluctuations, international economic uncertainty,
sovereign risk, force majeure, changes in tax law or concession
law, project scheduling delays, labor disputes, increased
production costs and variances in ore grade, scrap grade or
recovery rates from those assumed in production plans, political
and operational risks in the countries in which TNR may operate and
governmental regulation and judicial outcomes, and other risks
detailed from time to time in TNR's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended February, 2007. Copies of each filing may be
obtained from TNR or the SEC. Furthermore, metals operation, by
their very nature, entail inherent cyclical, sectoral, and
commodity risk and could expose an investor to the entire loss of
all capital invested. TNR does not undertake any obligation to
publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or
to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be
required under applicable securities laws. DATASOURCE: Terra Nostra
Resources Corporation CONTACT: Mirador Consulting, +1-877-647-2367,
or +1-561-989-3600, for Terra Nostra Resources Corporation Web
site: http://www.tnr-corp.com/
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