PIMA Pima Mining, the Aussie magnesium hopeful supported by former stockbroker, Rod Whyte, has high hopes for the Geneva motor show in May. It expects the new Audi A2 to embody 20 kilos of magnesium against a 2.7 kilo industry average last year while the new Alfa 156 uses more than 10 kilos. The argument is that magnesium is replacing aluminium and steel as the material for seat frames in cars. Enthusiasts claim that the use of magnesium world-wide has been growing at more than 25 per cent a year for the past five years and shows no signs of abating, as new production methods catch on. The company hopes to have the results in time for an Australian magnesium conference later this month.
Some brokers are sceptical.
Competition exists in the shape of Australian Magnesium Corp, backed by tycoon Robert de Crespigny, and using a different technology from the Dow system adopted by Pima. But Pima and its share price have confounded sceptics before. Much depends on the impression made at the conference and the news from the motor show. Some nice lateral thinking from Aussie listed Pima Mining which has an 80 per cent interest in the South Australian Magnesium Metal Project. This project owns a 474 million tonne magnesite resource in the Willouran Ranges on which a definitive feasibility study was carried out last autumn.