Australia Stocks: Aquarius, Babcock & Brown, OZ Minerals, Sino

By Shani Raja

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 15 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,938.50 at 10:20 a.m. in Sydney. The broader All Ordinaries Index gained 13.50 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,971.20, while the futures index expiring in December lost 0.1 percent to 5,005.

Gold mining companies: Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM AU), Australia's largest gold producer, fell 29 cents, or 1.1 percent, to A$26.55. Sino Gold Mining Ltd. (SGX AU), slumped 27 cents, or 4.9 percent, to A$5.23, the benchmark's biggest loser.

Gold futures for December delivery fell $17.80, or 2 percent, to $891.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP AU), a producer of the metal in South Africa and Zimbabwe, plunged 37 cents, or 4.3 percent, to A$8.21, the index's fourth-biggest loser. Platinum and palladium declined 1 percent as the dollar rose against the euro, eroding demand for the precious metals as an alternative investment.

Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB AU) rose 10 cents, or 7.8 percent, to A$1.38, the best performer on the benchmark. Babcock, EDP-Energias de Portugal SA and Efacec Capital SGPS SA agreed to set up a partnership to develop ``experimental'' wave power projects, benefiting from Portuguese government grants for renewable energy.

Cape Lambert Iron Ore Ltd. (CFE AU) dropped 1 cent, or 2.6 percent, to 38 cents. The company, which explores for the steelmaking raw material, said an Australian court delayed a decision on an injunction, halting its proposed investment in an African project until next week.

OZ Minerals Ltd. (OZL AU), the world's second-largest zinc mining company, rose 4 cents, or 2.6 percent, to A$1.75, the highest since Sept. 2. OZ Minerals increased the estimated copper, gold and silver resources at its A$1.1 billion ($920 million) Prominent Hill mine in South Australia state.

Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU) lost A$2.39, or 2.2 percent, to A$105.85, the lowest since Sept. 19. A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange fell 2.8 percent. Zinc slumped 3.8 percent, copper 3.7 percent and nickel 1.6 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.