Business Description:
OZ Minerals Limited (OZL) is involved in the production of copper and gold from the Prominent Hill mine. The Company is also exploring in the Prominent Hill area for additional copper-gold resources and recently purchased the Carrapateena copper project in South Australia which is a similar style of deposit to Prominent Hill.

Strategy Analysis:
Oz Minerals aims to generate superior shareholder returns by focusing on copper. First priority is to maximise the value of Prominent Hill, secondly focus on exploration - particularly at and around Prominent Hill and thirdly to pursue acquisitions that add value. A pipeline of projects with the potential to produce 50-150,000 tonnes of copper a year is sought. Surplus capital is targeted for return to shareholders. OZ Minerals reported NPAT down 71.9% to $113.9m for the half-year ended 30 June 2011. This includes the impact of the litigation settlement expense of $60.0m, an impairment loss in relation to the investment in Toro of $15.2m, and net foreign exchange losses of $32.7m. Revenues from ordinary activities were $632.7m, up 7.3% from the same period last year. Diluted EPS was 35.2 cents compared to 117.1 cents last year. Net operating cash flow was $388.3m compared to $362.8m last year. The interim dividend declared was 40 cents compared with 3 cents last year. During the period, the company acquired the Carrapateena copper-gold project in SA. A budget of $20.0m is planned for exploration at Carrapateena for 2011, which is planned to commence during the third quarter once relevant approvals have been obtained.