Don Williams: Analysts are on the wrong side of the fence for Oz Minerals

Don Williams: Analysts are on the wrong side of the fence for Oz Minerals. Last year was a collective misfire for mining stocks after three years of being shafted, but green shoots are emerging for a select few, including OZ Minerals. We like copper's prospects in 2015 as a global growth indicator gradually rising from 2014 lows, but more important is the company's growth prospects. OZ has already delivered Prominent Hill improvements, with the nearby high-grade Carapateena project, which is still in its infancy, to be further capitalised. This is expected to attract a cashed-up development partner for Carapateena, given global copper supply is plagued by many problems including rising levels of concentrate impurities, declining ore grades, increasing strip ratios, lack of water and power sources, and unsupportive government policies to incentivise infrastructure development. We believe analysts are on the wrong side of the fence for OZ Minerals, ignoring both Prominent Hill production improvements and Carapateena's investment attractiveness, with only about half recommending it as a buy. We expect that will change over 2015. @platypus