The copper price has surged nearly 8 per cent in three weeks, and this combined with Tuesday’s takeover offer for PanAust which sent its shares soaring 35 per cent appears to have reignited interest in the sector. Shares in Australian copper producer Sandfire Resources increased from the previous day’s close of $5.60 to $6.02, representing a surge of 7.5 per cent.

Investors looking for a sleeper in the sector should examine Finders Resources , particularly given net profit of about $85 million from its first full year of near capacity production from the Indonesian-based Wetar project in Indonesia in 2015-16 isn’t too far short of the company’s total enterprise value of $103 million.