RE: CarterHi Wilf. I asked Chad if the BHP takeover of Rio Tinto was related to the delays, Chad said the interested party was looking at how to allocate newly acquired assets. This was also related to the fact that the property needs to be mined now, not put in some companies reserves for 20 years. Chad said Cantex has made commitments to the Yemen government that there will be some feasibility studies complete by 2010 and Cantex wants a JV partner to fill that commitment. As far as security goes Chad said the recent violence in the country was a blessing in disguise as those companies that were unable to deal with the securities issues are no longer in the picture and the potential JV partners know the risks and are moving forward with the negotiations.
Thinking back and reading between the lines as one has to when talking with management. The comment of newly acquired assets makes me think that the JV partner may be Xstrata. Xstrata has recently bought out Falconbridge no doubt some of FB executives now probably work for Xstrata and there knowledge of Suwar and Wadi along with the available capacity at there near by concentrator makes me believe they are the front runner. Also the fact that Falconbridge did come running back to Chuck for another chance and he told them where to go, we know that there is big interest within that FB and now Xsrata circle. My advice is load up on the cheap shares as they won't always be available, smart money says we will see volume in the millions once we get closer to the announcement and once that comes out one may not be able to catch it until it does its little fall back and that could easily be the seven dollar range IMHO. Take care, keep the faith and see you at the millionaires club. Carter