Odds & Ends..1. It doesn't matter if management endorses the CNNC bid. Laramide (LAM CN) owns a blocking stake (ie, >10%). Accepting the CNNC offer was just a smart response to the Ministry's public rejection of Monatom's deal with Khan. What other course of action could they take if the Mongolian's can't agree amongst themselves?
2. The Mongolian gov't has signalled that they want to play by international rules. Sure, they are not happy that some juniors have in the past been able to raise huge sums based on nothing more than a permit from the Mongolian government. They aren't going to let that happen any more. You'll see them retain much more, if not all the equity and use project finance and off-take agreements to develop the projects. Its in their interest to play by the rules, especially if they are dealing with quality people like Khan management. As long as they get their 51% of Dornod, i think they will let the strongest bidder win.
3) The Chinese want this block because its so close to the one they bought from WPC and the more ore they can feed through the same processing plant, the better their IRR. TheRussians want this asset because its so close to their processingfacilities across the border. Who would derive more benefit from owning Dornod? If the decision is based rationally on expected project returns, then I figure CNNC would be willing to pay the most.
4) The big question is -- where can we find another situation like Khan to reinvest our profits in when this is all over!!!