Teck Cominco and the Erie PlantMy guess is that sometime, Teck Cominco will bid for Polymet to get the Erie Plant, and that will be followed by Franconia and Duluth Metals.
From Comark "There are four key companies operating in the Duluth Complex: PolyMet (POM-TSX),Franconia (FRA-TSXV), Duluth Metals (DM-TSX) and Teck Cominco (TCK.B-TSX). Franconia holds the largest land package of the four companies at approximately 6070 hectares, which contains three deposits. They also have an existing relationship with Teck Cominco based on their Arizona property, which is significant due to Teck’s position in the Complex"
There is still hot demand for Nickel - look at todays announcement below.
smilewithme
Xstrata in A$3.1bn bid for Jubilee
By Peter Smith in Sydney
Published: October 29 2007 01:10 | Last updated: October 29 2007 01:10
Xstrata, the mining group, has made a recommended A$3.1bn (US$2.9bn) cash takeover offer for Australia’s Jubilee Mines as part of efforts to expand its global supplies of nickel.
The Switzerland-based, UK-listed group’s bid is the latest in the mining sector where many commodities are trading near record highs on the back of increased demand from China and other fast-growing countries.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Xstrata to proceed with $4bn nickel site - Oct-17Nickel prices reached a record this year on the back of increased demand, although they have also been influenced by production delays and cost overruns by mining companies.
Xstrata was trumped in June by Russia’s Norilsk Nickel in the pursuit of Canadian nickel miner Lionore, which also has assets in Western Australia.
Perth-based Jubilee is a mining and exploration group primarily focused on high-grade nickel sulphides. Its main asset is the Cosmos Nickel Project in the North Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.
Xstrata, one of the world’s biggest nickel producers, has offered A$23 for each Jubilee share, a 35 per cent premium to its target’s Friday close of A$17.10. Jubilee shares surged 40 per cent after the announcement.