By Nathan Gill and James Attwood

     Aug. 18, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Sigdo Koppers SA, which controls Chile’s largest explosives maker, rose to the highest in two months in Santiago trading after announcing a $23.2 million pretax gain from the sale of assets in Peru.

     Sigdo Koppers climbed 2.6 percent to 390.1 pesos, the highest since June 13.

The Santiago-based company has rallied 6.9 percent in the two days since saying its Enaex SA unit agreed to sell shares in Dyno Nobel Samex for $58.2 million cash. Profit from the sale probably will be booked this year, Sigdo Koppers said in an Aug. 14 regulatory filing.

     “The company is building new plants in northern Chile that were not operating at full capacity and this sale will allow them to supply markets in Chile, Peru and Argentina with materials from these plants,” Ramon Lagos, head of research at Penta Estrategia y Inversiones, said in a phone interview from Santiago today.

     Sigdo Koppers plans to reinvest proceeds from the sale in its South American operations, Gonzalo Cavada, head of finance, said by phone from Santiago today. The company also has operations in Colombia.