Seeking Alpha: HudBay Minerals Almost Washed Out ... And Looking Like A Bargain

The list of mining stocks doing well over the past year is quite short, and HudBay Minerals (HBM) isn't on it. Thumped by a large-scale move of investor funds out of mining and declines in commodity metal prices, HudBay has further worried investors with its upcoming capital needs, the possibility of a dividend cut, and more general product/cost issues.

On the other hand, tough times don't last but tough companies do. Very few mining companies are looking at the sort of production growth potential that HudBay has over the next three to five years. What's more, while I don't think investors can sleep on the risk that the bottomless pit that once was China's appetite for basic materials has, in fact, found a bottom (meaning that the "super-cycle" is over), no analyst is currently projecting a long-term copper price whereat HudBay can't make money.

The valuation process for mining companies is slippery and inexact. That said, even using relatively low multiples on EBITDA, low price inputs into a NAV calculation, and the company's tangible book value suggest that these shares are undervalued. Unless you believe HudBay will actively destroy value by staying in business, these shares look at least 30% undervalued and may in fact be worth 70% to 100% more than today's price.

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HudBay Minerals Almost Washed Out ... And Looking Like A Bargain

Investopedia: Is Another Copper Star On The Rise?

It's not all that often that the Street seems to agree on something, but there is widespread agreement among analysts and investors that Freeport McMoRan's (NYSE:FCX) bids for Plains Exploration (NYSE:PXP) and McMoRan Exploration (NYSE:MMR) are both bad ideas. Assuming they go through, then, Freeport McMoRan may find its luster as a copper play dulled. Lucky for investors, then, a new option may be on the rise.

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http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Is-Another-Copper-Star-On-The-Rise-FCX-SCCO-TCK-PXP1217.aspx

Copper ... It's Back

Gold gets all the attention, but copper has staged a pretty remarkable recovery from its early summer lows. After bottoming out below $2.80 a pound, the December contract is near $3.70 and the highs of 2008 are in sight. Considering just how useful copper is in so many industrial, construction and communications applications, an ongoing global economic recovery should be a solid demand driver.

Most of the major copper producers have already run up in concert with the price of the metal, but investors may want a refresher course on the major players with an eye toward buying the inevitable dips.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX)
These are the fat times for Freeport-McMoRan, as this company is not only a major copper producer, but a major gold miner as well. At current prices, the 83 billion pounds of copper and nearly 34 million ounces of gold in Freeport's reserves are worth over $800 per share. Of course, that does not include the costs of extracting those resources (nor the risk of lower future prices), but it should give investors a sense of the magnitude of Freeport's resources. Freeport has long since diversified its reliance upon its Indonesia mine to a tolerable level, and the company produces more than 10% of the world's annual copper output. (For more, see Taking A Shine To Copper.)

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