Centamin has recovered some of the ground which it lost last week on reports an Egyptian court had ruled its rights to operate the Sukari gold mine were invalid.
The reports wiped around 40% off its share price, but the company has eased some of the concerns, and they have bounced back 16.25p to 76.75p, a 27% increase which makes it the biggest riser in the FTSE 250.
It has now received the court's ruling, which rejected any attempt to terminate the company's concession agreement although it said sufficient evidence had not been submitted to demonstrate ministerial approval had been given to allow the company to mine.
Centamin said it would appeal the decision and maintained it had documents showing the minister of petroleum and mineral resources had given approval, although these were somehow not in the court papers. Jonathan Guy at RBC said:
We believe that this statement provides substantial clarity but the legal process could take some time, during the which the shares will likely continue to be volatile.
Numis made similar remarks:
We now must wait for the appeal hearing but Centamin considers it has a legal right to continue operating as normal while the case is heard. This certainly provides clarity and appears to look like Centamin may be in good standing.
